Home > Policy Topics > Economic Opportunity > Thousands of Marylanders Still at Risk for Eviction Because Legislators Failed to Pass Vital Bills

Thousands of Marylanders Still at Risk for Eviction Because Legislators Failed to Pass Vital Bills

May 10, 2021 by Taneeka Richardson in 2021 session, Blog, Economic Opportunity, The COVID-19 Pandemic and Maryland's Economy

Eviction notice

Despite ongoing, short-term attempts to fend off a huge spike in evictions, hundreds of thousands of Marylanders are still living with the threat of an impending eviction as the Maryland General Assembly adjourned without passing emergency eviction prevention legislation.

The CDC had extended the federal moratorium on evictions until June 30, however Governor Hogan’s decision to allow eviction filings to continue rendered the CDC’s order an affirmative defense in court rather than its intended purpose, which was to prevent landlords from filing while the order was an effect. As a result, there are currently 120,000-180,000 pending eviction cases across the state of Maryland. Despite Maryland being set to receive more than $800 million for rental assistance from the federal government, landlords can evict without accessing this money and are currently allowed to take housing assistance funds for back rent owed and still evict their tenants. For state-administered funds, they have to wait at least 90 days after accepting rental assistance funding, but counties, which are distributing most of the rental assistance funds, have flexibility to decide whether to use this requirement.

MDCEP joined many local and state housing advocates urging the General Assembly to pass the five bills in the 2021 Housing Justice Package. Unfortunately, only one of the bills passed, which was intended to guarantee a right to counsel in eviction cases. While the protections in the bill were weakened in the legislative process, Maryland has become the first state in the nation to provide access to counsel to renters in eviction proceedings. The bill also requires landlords to give tenants a 10-day notice prior to filing for eviction. While this bill passing was a victory for housing advocates, its future implementation is largely unknown due to the bill passing with no direct funding stream. There was some short-term funding included in the state’s pandemic relief legislation, but a bill that would have provided a long-term funding stream failed to make it through all the legislative hurdles in time and failed to pass on the final day of the legislative session. Once signed, the access to counsel bill will take effect in October 2021.

The remaining bills in the Housing Justice Package that unfortunately did not pass were:

  • COVID-19 Eviction Protections (HB 1312)
    • Would have extended the Hogan/CDC eviction moratorium until the end of the year. The bill would have also closed loopholes in current renters protections by requiring landlords to utilize state and local renter assistance prior to filing for eviction, it would have prohibited lease non-renewals without good cause making nonpayment of rent not a good a cause to not renew a lease and it would have prohibited late fees, interest charges and rent increases through the state of emergency.
  • Eviction Filing Surcharge (HB 31)
    • Would have increased the cost to file for an eviction from $15 to $120, bringing the state in line with the national average for eviction filing fees. The bill included a provision to prohibit the landlord from passing this cost onto their tenant with the goal of lowering the state’s extraordinary volume of eviction litigation.
  • Eviction Diversion Program (HB 52/SB 454)
    • Would have established an eviction diversion program in eight district courts with the highest volumes of eviction cases in Maryland and would have required all cases to begin with a status conference to allow time for the case to be resolved in mediation as well as allow time for a tenant to access rental assistance programs and other resources.
  • Emergency Homeowner Protections
    • Would have extended the foreclosure moratorium through the state of emergency as well as required loan servicers to grant forbearance throughout the state of emergency as well. It would have also allowed flexible repayment options such as deferring missed mortgage payments to the end of the loan.

The General Assembly considered other renter protection bills this session outside of the Housing Justice Package, however only two of them passed:

  • Reusable Tenant Screening Reports (HB 861/SB 691)
    • This bill provides that, if allowed by a landlord, a tenant may provide a copy of a reusable tenant screening report and thereby avoid additional charges in the lease application process.
  • 60 Day Notice Requirement for Lease Non-Renewals (SB 401)
    • This bill requires the landlord to provide a 60 day notice of lease termination to a tenant, which is up from the 30 day notice requirement already in place.

Lawmakers must make housing justice a priority next session. This will grant much-needed relief to struggling Marylanders and increase housing and economic security for future years. State legislators failed to protect renters by passing key legislation this session, however there is still time for state and local governments to act as they begin distributing the federal renter assistance funds are underway. Local officials have the ability to put more conditions on landlords accepting the funds to protect renters. The state is already requiring that landlords who take funds can’t file for eviction within 90 days, must end all existing eviction proceedings, and must waive late fees and court fees. Local governments should enact these same requirements for the portions of rental assistance funding they have direct control over.

Providing oversight as well as having similar requirements for landlords to access county funded rental assistance programs would provide some temporary relief to renters during this time. Taking this action is crucial to prevent landlords from accessing renter assistance funding and still being able to evict tenants a short time afterwards. Housing advocates have been warning of the eviction crisis looming across the state for months, and with a federal judge striking down the CDC moratorium on evictions tenants will no longer have a defense in court for failure to pay rent cases.  Officials must act now more than ever to avoid an eviction crisis by prioritizing stability over displacement.