Contacts:
Matt Hill
410-625-9409, ext. 229,
Molly Amster
301-529-3875
Twitter: @rentersuniteMD
Facebook: /rentersuniteMD
Website: rentersunitedmaryland.org
General Assembly Members & Housing Advocates Call on Governor to Fund Access to Counsel for Renters
Federal funding should be used to provide legal representation for families facing eviction
Annapolis, Maryland – A new law providing for access to counsel for renters facing eviction went into effect on October 1, 2021. Legislators and housing advocates sent a letter to Governor Larry Hogan today urging that federal funding be used to implement the recently enacted legislation (House Bill 18) that mandates that the state provide access to legal representation for all limited-income tenants in eviction cases over the next four years. The message sent to the governor highlights the severity of the COVID-related eviction crisis and the disparate impact it is having on people of color. The letter requests $11.8 million for FY 23, mirroring the recent request of the Access to Counsel in Evictions Task Force.
“With the housing economy still reeling from COVID-19 and approximately 111,000 Maryland households behind on their rent and facing eviction, the urgency of implementing HB 18 has only increased. These households are overwhelmingly people of color (80%) and have suffered both job and income loss during the pandemic.”
The letter authors offered appreciation for the $800 million of rental assistance funds that state and local governments are working to disseminate to keep renters housed and make landlords whole. Increased funding for legal counsel in FY 2022 is also working to ensure those resources have their intended impact.
“Earlier this year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia Fudge echoed this point in a letter to state and local officials across the country, explaining that “tenants are more likely to avoid eviction and remain stably housed when they have access to legal representation. Legal counsel can also aid in the successful completion of [rental assistance] applications.”
This can be seen in the experience of Sally R., who leases and resides at a home in Anne Arundel County with her four-year old daughter who has diabetes. COVID-19 hit the family particularly hard. Sally lost employment to care for her daughter. She still paid the rent by engaging in contract work and spending down her savings, but in January 2021, with COVID restrictions tightening again, Sally fell behind. Her landlord, represented by the management company The PCS Home Team of Keller Williams, became increasingly aggressive and filed an eviction action. Sally was approved for rental assistance to pay the entire debt, but the landlord refused to accept the payment. Like 96% of landlords in eviction cases according to one study in Maryland, Sally’s landlord was represented by counsel in the eviction case. Sally was not. She quickly sought help, and Kathleen Hughes, an attorney at Community Legal Services of Prince George’s County, began representing her in the action. Because of Ms. Hughes’ advocacy and coordination with the Arundel Community Development Services, the landlord ultimately agreed to accept the money and stop the eviction – even though they now want to take $5,000 of the rental assistance and apply it to pay the landlord’s attorney from the eviction action.
Sally reflected on the experience: “For anyone hauled into court for eviction it’s the worst day of your life. It’s like being dropped in a foreign country where no one speaks your language. You absolutely need someone to interpret for you, to advocate for you in a situation where you are about to be homeless. Everyone deserves an ally and a guide in court, and the outcomes are 100% different when you’re represented vs. not represented.”
“Access to counsel in landlord tenant legal proceedings makes them more efficient and effective for all parties – and now it’s the law,” said Senator Shelly Hettleman (D11 – Baltimore County). “It seems counter-intuitive, but providing lawyers to tenants actually helps them stay housed, saving the state millions of dollars in the long term.”
The estimated return on investment to the state as a result of the Access to Counsel Program being fully funded is more than $62 million. “Based on [a] study…by Stout Risisus Ross…[full funding] would provide access to counsel to 34,000 households resulting in cost savings to the state in the amount of $62 million in reduced Medicaid and foster care costs.”
The Maryland Multi-Housing Association, one of the largest landlord trade groups in Maryland, was asked to sign on to the letter but declined.
“Residents in my community can’t afford to wait,” said Delegate Wanika Fisher (D47 – Prince George’s). “Access to counsel needs to be funded as soon as possible in order to give families a fighting chance. We need the governor to take swift action to keep Maryland families housed in the ongoing public health crisis. His counterparts across the country, including Tennessee, Wyoming, Virginia, Maine and Michigan, have funded legal counsel for renters – he should too. It’s the right thing to do.”
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