LINK | Publication: The Daily Record, Eric Neugeboren | Date: June 24, 2021
Excerpt
The way that courts handle rental assistance once the moratoriums end is another uncertainty.
Zafar Shah, an attorney in the Public Justice Center’s Human Right to Housing Project said that “despite the very valiant and innovative efforts” to provide the emergency rental assistance, there is not a system in place across Maryland that aligns the distribution of the funding with the evictions process.
Jessica Quincosa, the executive director of CLSPGC, said some of the eviction hearings move faster than the distribution of the funds, meaning people who are eligible for the assistance could still face eviction.
“The big unknown is whether the court will prove itself to be part of this all of government process,” Shah said.
Shah wants to see tenants who have rental assistance “in the pipeline” get continuances or dismissals in their eviction cases. He cited the Eastern Shore as a “blueprint for success” of incorporating the “all-of-government” model — with a caveat being that the area has smaller dockets.
Girard from MSPB said the group has developed a strong partnership with local governments in the Eastern Shore. Tenants who have rental assistance in the pipeline but not on hand should be able to delay their eviction, even after the moratoriums end, Girard said — something Shah wants to be widespread.
“The court, as a part of government, has an obligation to ensure optimization of these emergency rental assistance funds,” Shah said.