Maryland Leaders Must Do More to Prevent Looming Eviction Crisis

Hundreds of thousands of Marylanders will potentially face eviction or foreclosure at the end of this month as a result of them suddenly finding themselves without income due to the economic and public health crises of COVID-19.  Maryland courts will resume hearing certain eviction and foreclosure cases starting July 25, despite many Marylanders’ lack of financial housing assistance from state and local governments.

Recently, Gov. Hogan announced $30 million in funding for eviction prevention assistance.  However, this funding is a far cry from the $153 million in rental assistance that state and local groups were requesting.  Local governments have also set aside funding for eviction and foreclosure assistance, but without future funding from the state these sources are likely to be depleted quickly. As such, MDCEP and other local and statewide groups are calling for Governor Hogan to expand the eviction moratorium to cover all types of eviction and to extend the current eviction and utility shut-off moratorium until the public health crisis has ended or until sufficient financial assistance is available for Marylanders to avoid homelessness.

With Maryland being the eighth most expensive state in the country for rental housing, our legislative leaders must act now. In 2018, over 650,000 landlord-tenant cases were filed in Maryland, which is more than any other type of case. African American households face higher rates of evictions and the numbers are even higher for African American women-headed households with children. Evictions are extremely disruptive and harmful to households as they contribute to poor mental health, job loss, financial stress for adults and poor academic performance in children. The economic burden of this pandemic is going to last long after the state of emergency orders are lifted. As such, it’s crucial that Maryland policymakers put long-term protections in place for the state’s most vulnerable populations affected by this public health crisis.

To date, Governor Hogan has only taken action on a few recommended renter protection policies.  Maryland’s failure to act now on this issue will cause a massive housing crisis, as almost one-third of renters in the state are currently not able to pay their rent. A wave of evictions would cause massive homelessness, jeopardizing public health and the early stages of economic recovery.  Maryland lawmakers must protect housing stability for all Marylanders by extending and expanding renters’ protections during this public health crisis.