The Cases (Court Decisions)                                       Forms                                            Library Resources

Maryland Statutes
In Maryland, the official source of the state statutes is the Annotated Code of Maryland. Statutes relating to the Maryland Housing Authorities are codified in Article 44A of the Annotated Code of Maryland. Statutes relating to the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development are codified in Article 83B of the Annotated Code of Maryland. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the Annotated Code of Maryland in print. For your convenience, this guide provides links to Maryland's statutes in a free web database maintained by Lexis-Nexis. (Click the "+" next to "Maryland Code" to browse for Articles 44A and 83B.) Keep in mind, however, that the print version may be more useful in your research because it provides summaries of and citations to cases that have interpreted each statute. The free web version does not give summaries of case law.

  For more information on researching Maryland statutes, see Finding Statutes and Searching for Maryland Statutes When You Don't Have a Citation.

Federal Statutes

The official source of the federal statutes is the United States Code. All Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (see SAILOR, Maryland's Online Public Information Network sponsored by Maryland public libraries) carry the United States Code in print. Many of the same libraries also carry one of the unofficial versions, the United States Code Annotated and the United States Code Service. It is a good idea to do your federal statute research in one of these unofficial print versions of the Code, because they are both more up-to-date than the official Code, and because they include summaries of cases that interpret each statute. There are at least two important federal housing-related statutes that you might want to look up in print, and we provide quick links to them here:

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 3531-3549 (created the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides assistance for housing and community development)
42 U.S.C. Sections 1404a-1440: Low Income Housing

For more information on researching federal statutes, see Finding Statutes and Searching the United States Code When You Don't Have a Citation.

The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development offers assistance to persons developing or improving housing. It also provides rental assistance programs such as Section 8. The Department's regulations are published officially in Title 5 of COMAR (the Code of Maryland Administrative Regulations), the print version of which is available in all Maryland law libraries (list) and many Maryland public libraries (SAILOR). The Department's regulations are also available electronically on the Division of State Documents home page.

For more information on researching Maryland administrative regulations, see Finding Regulations and Finding Maryland Regulations without a Citation.

Forms

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development Forms & Applications
HUD Public and Indian Housing Forms
HUD Grants

Resources for Additional Help

The resources below may help you to understand subsidized housing law. Keep in mind, however, that books that explain the law are no substitute for the law itself. You should always verify what the authors of these books say about the law by looking up the statutes, cases, and regulations the books cite. Some of these books may also include sample forms.

HUD's Office of Public and Indian Housing

HUD's Housing Choice Vouchers Program

HUD handbooks on Public and Indian Housing

Cases
There are several ways to begin research into case law. One way is to find the statutes that apply to your situation in the Annotated Code of Maryland, the United States Code Annotated, or the United States Code Service then look at the case summaries that follow them. You can find additional cases by reading books that explain the law and noting the cases they cite. Another method of finding cases is to search the Maryland Digest, which is a subject index to Maryland case law, or the Federal Practice Digest, which is a subject index to federal case law. The Digests arrange summaries of published cases by legal issue using something called the "topic and key number" system. Once you know the topic and key number combination that represents your issue, look up that topic and key number in the Digest and you should find a list of summaries of cases that discuss your issue. Each summary includes a citation to the full text of a case. Topics and key numbers that are likely to lead to cases about subsidized housing law include United States k. 82(3) (in the Federal Practice Digest) and Municipal Corporations k. 717.5 (in the Maryland Digest).

For more information on researching Maryland case law, see Finding Maryland Case Law, Finding Federal Case Law, and Finding Case Law by Subject.

Source: This section developed by Sara Kelley, Librarian, Georgetown University Law Library, in partnership with the Maryland Legal Assistance Network.