2013 Maryland Code
HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
§ 4-903 - Findings

§4-903.

The General Assembly finds that:

(1) (i) many residents of the State live in dwellings that do not conform to building, health, safety, fire, occupancy, or other codes and standards applicable to housing;

(ii) many communities or political subdivisions in the State do not have a minimum livability code; and

(iii) these conditions impede the development and maintenance of healthy, safe, and viable communities;

(2) private sector financing is often unavailable for rehabilitation because:

(i) owner-occupants of housing in need of rehabilitation often have low incomes; and

(ii) nonoccupant owners often incur high risks in owning and managing the housing;

(3) rehabilitating suitable housing:

(i) increases the economic life of the housing;

(ii) is often more economical and less disruptive than replacing the housing and relocating its occupants;

(iii) can better promote community development when it is done through organized housing rehabilitation programs;

(iv) is essential for sound community development; and

(v) can be helped by rehabilitating commercial buildings serving communities where housing rehabilitation is desirable;

(4) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent and property acquired to:

(i) rehabilitate housing;

(ii) develop healthful, safe, and viable communities;

(iii) rehabilitate commercial buildings to help rehabilitate and develop housing; and

(iv) provide healthful and safe housing for migratory workers to maintain and expand the agricultural activities that are dependent on the labor of these workers; and

(5) it is a proper public purpose for which public money may be spent to:

(i) improve, modify, and add to housing to increase the supply of special housing for special populations, such as elderly households, individuals with disabilities, and other disadvantaged residents of the State;

(ii) prevent lead poisoning by modifying older housing to provide a lead-safe environment, as lead paint in older housing is a major source of lead poisoning in children;

(iii) provide adequate indoor plumbing, water supply, and sewage disposal systems for dwellings;

(iv) rehabilitate or acquire and rehabilitate large rental housing facilities for low- and moderate-income individuals and keep those facilities in a decent, safe, and sanitary condition; and

(v) reduce or eliminate radon and asbestos, which are major detriments to the health and safety of residents, on a pilot program basis.