Sen. Shelly Hettleman and Del. Vaughn Stewart introduced HB674/SB384 in this year’s Maryland General Assembly. The Senate bill passed in both chambers and now goes to the desk of the governor.
As Maryland’s General Assembly enters its final 30 days in session for 2022, more than two dozen bills have been proposed that would help renter households. Some of these bills mirror recommendations from the American Bar Association’s recent call for reform of residential eviction procedures.
“We are all in constant threat of being told to leave our homes with just 60 days notice,” Bouie said at a Tuesday press conference. “As month-to-month renters, that leaves us wondering each month: Will such a notice arrive on our door?”
Letting local governments require landlords to provide a reason when they choose not to renew a tenant’s lease is a top priority for Renters United Maryland, a fair housing coalition that is asking state lawmakers to allow local governments to enact “just cause” eviction laws in their jurisdictions.
Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, a Montgomery County Democrat, is sponsoring a bill that would require landlords to provide “just cause” if they decide to refuse a lease renewal to a tenant.
Renter advocates have argued that such legislation would close a loophole landlords have used to evict tenants behind on rent.
“It’s absolutely critical that we ensure that renter protections are passed this year,” Wilkins said.
Find everything you need to know about Renters United Maryland’s Housing Justice 22 priorities for the 2022 Maryland General Assembly session.
As FY 2023 budget decisions are made, we as elected officials, advocates for fair, affordable
housing, and legal services providers request that you allocate funding as soon as possible to
implement HB 18, Access to Counsel in eviction cases, which went into effect on October 1,
2021. HB 18 enacts a proven, cost-effective model for preventing the disruptive displacement of
families in eviction cases by leveling the playing field between landlord and tenant and ensuring
that income-qualified tenants can enforce existing legal protections.
Trent Leon Lierman, who helps tenants and landlords in Prince George’s County apply for rental relief as part of his work at the non-profit CASA, told me the County’s program “got off the ground a full month and a half before Montgomery County.” He said the extra time was important because “we are all racing against a ticking time bomb.”
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.
William Roberts, the chair of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, said he’s concerned about the “logistical nightmare” of getting aid to tenants in a timely fashion, and urged local and state officials to step up their efforts to help tenants before evictions ramp up.
Governor Hogan announced on May 28, 2021, that HB 18, Access to Counsel in Evictions, will become law without his signature. With the bill’s passage, Maryland becomes the second state in the nation to promise legal representation to renters in eviction cases. HB 18 sets the blueprint for ensuring that all income-eligible renters have access to free legal representation in evictions and subsidy terminations by 2025.