Link | Publication: Kelly Powers, Salisbury Daily Times/Delmarvanow.com | Date: Dec. 28, 2020
Excerpt
A sweeping Housing Justice Package for upcoming General Assembly session was unveiled in Maryland Monday morning by a statewide coalition of rental housing advocates and state representatives.
The package pushes five high-impact legislative proposals aiming to tackle the “ongoing housing crisis” and stem the risk of eviction faced by hundreds of thousands of Marylanders.
“There is no end in sight,” Attorney General Brian Frosh said in the Dec. 28 press conference. “We need to act, and we need to act quickly.”
Over 115,000 eviction cases were filed from July to November in Maryland. Over 4,500 warrants were obtained from just October to November, while more than 1,100 evictions were carried out in the same time period in Maryland, according to the officials.
And these effects are not felt evenly.
Renters United Maryland said 36% of Black households are not current on their rent, compared to 14% of white households. About 30% of households earning less than $50,000 are also behind, compared to just 10% of those earning more than $75,000.
The Housing Justice Package also includes homeowner protections in its set of legislative priorities heading to 2021 General Assembly Session.
“These bills reflect a consensus among advocates, organizers, the Office of the Attorney General, the Attorney General’s COVID-19 Access to Justice Task Force and leading state delegates and senators who are seeing in their districts an unfolding housing crisis,” said Zafar Shah, an attorney with Public Justice Center, as he kicked off the package’s presentation.
Members of RUM manned the virtual press conference alongside Frosh, state senators Shelly Hettleman and Jill Carter, delegates Jheanelle Wilkins, Vaughn Stewart, Melissa Wells, Brooke Lierman, Wanika Fisher and others.
As Delegate Wilkins (D-20) put it, “This unprecedented time calls for unprecedented and bold action.”