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.
Amid a groundswell of support for renters struggling through COVID-19 and the state’s economic recovery, the GA passed only 3 bills that targeted eviction.
These crucial bills are on the Senate floor today, the final day of the 2021 General Assembly session
Losak said the CDC moratorium does not address tenant holdovers, which according to the Maryland court system, allows landlords to remove tenants when their lease is over so long as they provide written notice in advance.
“Every day I wake up in an apartment building where at least 20 people have been carted out of here and have died due to a pandemic,” she said. “They’ve died because the buildings they live in, this building is dirty, is ill maintained. But yet this building, the people who own this building and manage it, they’re continuing to profit from federal funds. And this is unconscionable. So it is now to take action.” Guthrie said her situation represents what tenants behind on rent are experiencing across the state.
Zafar Shah, a housing attorney with the Public Justice Center, said, “Nearly four in ten Maryland households are behind on rent and report that they are very likely or somewhat likely to leave their home due to eviction in the next two months. And, notably, that figure is 55% for Black households.”
Renters United Maryland says there are less than three weeks left in the legislative session and are calling on lawmakers to act.
“It is not unreasonable to expect that we would use the 800 million dollars that has come to Maryland to provide for rental assistance to ask landlord to take that money to continue to keep people housed just for the emergency, “ said Molly Amster with Jews United for Justice
Since the start of the pandemic, over 3,000 Maryland families have experienced court-ordered evictions, despite the existing eviction protections provided by the CDC and the Governor’s Executive Order. The CDC’s order is set to expire at the end of the month, courts have reopened and are hearing tens of thousands of eviction cases in the coming weeks, and there are less than three weeks left in the Maryland General Assembly session, yet the legislature has done nothing to provide additional protections against evictions.
If property owners can still terminate a lease after their tenants pay what they owe, the money will amount to little more than a bailout for landlords, says Zafar Shah with the Public Justice Center. He says landlords are less likely to keep a tenant they predict will fall behind on rent again, even after the pandemic wanes.
RUM strongly urges the General Assembly to protect Maryland renters from lease non-renewals and “Tenant Holding Over” evictions during the emergency and economic recovery.