Housing Justice on Sine Die 2021
These crucial bills are on the Senate floor today, the final day of the 2021 General Assembly session
News & Updates
WUSA9: The CDC’s extended eviction ban probably won’t stop all evictions. Here’s why
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.
WYPR: Renter Advocates Demand Action On Eviction Protection Bills
“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.
FOX45: Group urges action to prevent mass evictions in Maryland
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.
WMAR: Housing advocates fear thousands of Marylanders could lose their homes in ‘eviction tsunami’
“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
Renters & Advocates Urge Senate President Ferguson to Pass Emergency Eviction Prevention Legislation as Hundreds of Thousands Face Eviction
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.
WAMU: Maryland Landlords Are Exploiting A Loophole To Evict Renters, Advocates Say
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 responds to gutting of COVID-19 Eviction and Housing Relief Act
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.
Recap: Protect Our Homes Day
On Tuesday February 23, more than two hundred renters and activists urged their legislators to support critical legislative proposals now pending in the Maryland General Assembly to win housing justice in 2021.
WaPo Opinion: Housing is a human right, but Maryland’s system works mainly in landlords’ favor
Renters, now approaching 40 percent of state residents, know what’s at stake. They know what’s on the table. They are watching and waiting for bold action. Although temporary protections from eviction are helpful, they do little to change the underlying destabilization in Maryland’s housing economy.