Family of Weiner sisters and fire officials press for short‑term rental safety bill

Delegate Foley presented HB 12-21, the Jillian and Lindsey Weiner Short Term Rental Fire Safety Act, prompted by the 2022 deaths of two Montgomery County sisters in a short‑term rental fire. He said the bill would require functioning smoke and carbon monoxide alarms with annual inspections, local registries, exit information and platform verification before listings go live.

Alyssa Weiner, mother of the victims, described waking to the sound of shattering glass and said: "If the home we rented had been equipped with smoke detectors, I would not be standing here before you today." Her testimony and appearances by fire‑service advocates framed the bill as a life‑saving measure. Chief Bob Phillips (MSFA) said the proposal "goes a long ways" toward prevention by mandating inspections, standardized alarms, and exit information.

Industry witnesses, including Airbnb and Maryland Realtors, generally supported the life‑safety goals but pressed for implementation clarity. Lisa May (Maryland Realtors) and Jamie Gregory (Airbnb) urged clearer standards for inspection scope, cure periods when inspectors find defects, whether an inspection is required between every stay, and where hosts should store documentation. Airbnb said it already includes smoke/CO alarm checks in its onboarding and has distributed combined alarms to hosts, but opposed requiring platforms to retain all inspection documents on their servers for privacy reasons.

Committee members probed whether inspections must be done between every guest stay and how to avoid imposing impractical burdens on small hosts. Witnesses signaled willingness to work on sponsor amendments to allow online communications and clarify documentation retention and inspection timing. The panel concluded with the sponsor thanking families and safety officials; no vote was taken in committee that day.