For Immediate Release: Contact: Matt Losak, 301-588-3987; Zafar Shah, (410) 625-9409 x 237
April 13, 2021
Annapolis—The Maryland General Assembly (MGA) declined to heed repeated warnings from renter advocates of a coming eviction storm requiring emergency legislation and adjourned the session with no emergency action to protect renters. The MGA failed to pass the emergency House Bill 1312 (Landlord and Tenant – Eviction Actions – Catastrophic Health Emergencies) that would have protected Maryland renters from a well-documented lease non-renewal loophole in the Centers for Disease Control eviction “moratorium” and Governor Hogan’s Executive Order on evictions.
Despite repeated warnings by Renters United Maryland (RUM), Attorney General Brian Frosh, and key legislators who sounded the alarm that Maryland has not done enough to protect renters against a massive wave of evictions, the Senate did not pass the critical legislation before the close of session. With about one and half hours left on Sine Die, the Senate finally took up HB1312 on the floor for 2nd reader and inexplicably rejected a motion to expedite the bill to be voted twice on the same calendar day. Senate President Ferguson never brought the bill up again.
“The MGA adjourned last night without passing emergency protections for renters in the midst of a pandemic where over 200,000 Maryland families are at risk of eviction,” said Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D-20, Montgomery) who sponsored HB1312. “Shame on us. Shame on the Senate. We now have responsibility for every person who is evicted.”
In addition to failing to pass HB1312, the MGA failed to adopt HB 31, sponsored by Delegate Luke Clippinger (D-46, Baltimore City), which would have raised eviction filings fees from amongst the lowest in the nation at $15. A $42 increase was intended to curtail the number of eviction filings, which hit nearly 670,000 in fiscal year 2019. On Sine Die, the Senate passed HB 31 with a prohibition against passing the eviction surcharge onto tenants, most of whom disproportionately represent low-income earners and households of color already struggling to pay rent. As importantly, the surcharge would have funded the “Access to Counsel” program enacted in HB 18 to help tenants facing eviction.
“It is unconscionable for the MGA to boast of supporting racial equity while abandoning emergency efforts to protect Maryland’s most vulnerable residents from eviction,” said Molly Amster, Baltimore director for Jews United for Justice and a co-founder of RUM.
HB 18, sponsored by Delegate Wanika Fisher (47B, Prince Georges) and led by Senator Shelly Hettleman (D-11, Baltimore County) in the Senate, will provide renters who earning 50% or below area median income with access to a lawyer when facing eviction – so long as the newly established access program is funded. With this progress, Maryland took another step closer to becoming the first state in the country to grant a right to counsel to all tenants facing eviction.
“Providing a statewide right to counsel helps further racial and economic equity while correcting the massive imbalance of power between landlords and tenants, and Maryland is the first to show the others how it can be done,” according to John Pollock, Coordinator of the National Coalition for a Civil Right Counsel and the Public Justice Center. Legal representation is a proven, cost effective means of preventing disruptive displacement in eviction actions.
HB 18, Access to Counsel in Evictions, directs the Maryland Legal Services Corporation in consultation with a task force, to expand access to representation in eviction cases for all income-qualified tenants through legal services providers with a target completion date of October 1, 2025. The General Assembly did not pass HB 31 that would have provided a dedicated revenue source for the expanded representation. In the near-term, supporters will advocate to dedicate part of the $800 Million in federal rental housing assistance to expand representation while exploring more sustainable funding.
HB 18 will also require landlords, before they file a “Failure to Pay Rent” eviction action, to send a notice to tenants at least 10 days prior to filing their court complaint. With this notice, Maryland finally joins the vast majority of U.S. states that require a pre-filing notice. The notice informs tenants of the amount of rent due that must be paid to avoid an eviction filing as well as the tenant’s legal rights and available resources to resolve the landlord’s claim.
“I am thrilled that Maryland will become the first state in the nation to provide access to counsel to tenants in eviction proceedings,” said Senator Shelly Hettleman. “I am grateful that my colleagues supported providing low-income tenants with the tools they desperately need in landlord/tenant disputes where landlords are already represented the vast majority of the time.”
As though the Senate’s failure to adequately protect renters suddenly became clear, at 3 minutes to midnight on Sine Die, the MGA passed SB401, sponsored by Senator Jill Carter (D41, Baltimore City), which raised the amount of advance notice – 60 days, up from 30, which a landlord must give to terminate an expiring lease or month-to-month tenancy. Only Baltimore City and Montgomery County currently require 60 days’ notice.
Click here for a complete list of RUM’s Housing Justice Package priority bills, their failure or progress
Renters United Maryland (RUM), a statewide coalition of more than 30 nonprofit, civic, religious, legal and labor organizations established to advance renters’ rights, housing stability and quality in Maryland.
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