Keeping individuals and families in their homes makes our communities safer and stronger. Renters United Maryland’s three legislative priorities – passing Good Cause Eviction Local Enabling legislation, passing the Tenant Possessions Recovery Act, and maintaining funding for eviction-prevention programs – will ensure we keep Marylanders in their homes.
GOOD CAUSE EVICTION
Sen. Muse and Del. Wilkins
All Marylanders deserve the chance to put down roots in our communities, yet large corporate landlords file more than 5,000 eviction cases per year without providing a reason for the eviction. When corporate landlords engage in no-cause evictions, families cannot stay rooted in their schools, jobs, and support networks; and, renters do not report unsafe conditions out of fear of eviction. The whole community suffers.
Passing Good Cause Eviction enabling legislation will allow local jurisdictions to pass their own Good Cause laws. Good Cause requires transparency and accountability from corporate landlords for why they are choosing to evict a tenant. It’s that simple.
As Maryland’s budget deficit looms, passing enabling legislation for local Good Cause Eviction laws would save the state money on support programs and provide a no-cost way to prevent homelessness, strengthen our communities, and hold corporate landlords to account. Read more about Good Cause Eviction.
TENANT POSSESSIONS RECOVERY ACT
Sen. Sydnor and Del. Terrasa
Evictions are not just a symptom of poverty; evictions cause poverty and homelessness – especially when families lose all their belongings. In Maryland, when tenants are evicted from their homes, they lose a roof over their heads, and many also lose their dignity and personal possessions. Financial records, family member’s ashes, and children’s keepsakes are all moved to the curb in a public, traumatic eviction process.
Right now, there is no state law to require that tenants receive notice of their eviction date, and no possession reclamation window. This is out of line with best practices in 46 other states. The Tenant Possessions Recovery Act (TPRA) will (1) require that tenants receive 14 days’ notice of their scheduled eviction, and (2) require that tenants have a ten-day window to reclaim their possessions before a landlord can dispose of them. The TPRA will provide more certainty for tenants and landlords, keep our streets clean and communities safe, and ensure tenants are treated with respect.
MAINTAIN FUNDING FOR CRUCIAL EVICTION PREVENTION PROGRAMS
Right to Counsel Funding $14-24m / year
SB154 / HB103, Sen. Hettleman and Del. Rosenberg
Right to Counsel funding ensures that no income-eligible tenant has to face and eviction judge alone. This program is proven to work. In FY24, attorneys closed nearly 9,200 cases – benefitting 21,000 Marylanders, including 9,100 kids. Of these cases, 88% of tenants who wished to remain in their homes were able to.
In the face of our budget crisis, Right to Counsel funding provides the state cost savings. The program provides a $3 return for every $1 invested, which resulted in a $46.7 million benefit in FY24 alone. These benefits come from reduced shelter costs, decreased public health expenditures, and improved housing stability.
Maintain Eviction Prevention Funding $10m / year
In the State Budget
Eviction Prevention Funds pay one to three months of past due rent for families facing a short-term crisis – ensuring a missed month’s rent doesn’t lead to homelessness. More than 5,000 families in Maryland are made homeless each year due to evictions. Eviction Prevention Funds can stop the devastating impact of homelessness on families and communities.
Similarly to Right to Counsel funding, Eviction Prevention Funds can also provide the state cost savings. For every dollar invested, Maryland would save an estimated $2.39 in costs by reducing the strain on state-funded safety nets. Eviction Prevention Funding provides stability, averts crisis, and prevents harm.