Renter advocates gather Tuesday in the cold in Annapolis to call on lawmakers to pass “good cause” eviction legislation. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Maryland Matters)
Renter advocates are hopeful that this will b the year “good cause” evictions finally become law in Maryland — but first it has to get past the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where it died last year after passing the House.
“We’re seeing progress … Now, all eyes are on the Senate to do the right thing for the state of Maryland,” said Matt Losak at a midday rally of more than two dozen advocacy groups Tuesday outside the State House. “We’ve been fighting for just cause or good cause eviction for more than a decade.
“Good cause eviction” refers to legislation that would let counties and the city of Baltimore adopt policies that require a landlord to cite a specific reason before ending a lease agreement with a tenant.
“In our view, this is the most important piece of legislation facing the Maryland General Assembly this year, short of the budget,” said Losak, the co-founder of Montgomery County Renters Alliance. “We are seeing countless tenants losing their homes for no other reason other than forming tenants’ associations, seeking promised or required services or trying to negotiate a fairer rent.”
The House and Senate both held hearings on the proposal Tuesday. The House Environment and Transportation Committee took up Del. Jheanelle K. Wilkins’ (D-Montgomery) House Bill 709 and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee heard Senate Bill 651, co-sponsored by Sen. C. Anthony Muse (D-Prince George’s) and Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Anne Arundel and Howard).
“If your landlord can’t give a good reason for the eviction, then your family shouldn’t be evicted,” Muse said at the rally. “When families can stay in their homes, they can stay near their jobs, near their schools, near their family and their friends.”
But with Maryland facing a 96,000-unit housing shortage, officials are trying to encourage new development to increase housing supply. They worry that developers may veer away from the state if there are too many regulatory hoops to consider.
For that and other reasons, good cause legislation may still face a difficult path this session.
Concerns raised in Judicial Proceedings
The bills outline 10 broad circumstances that a landlord could cite when not renewing a lease, including substantial breach of lease or damage to the premises, a series of minor lease violations that negatively affect the property, or routine disorderly conduct that disturbs other tenants. Other “good causes” include situations when residents habitually pay rent late, engage in illegal activities on the premises, or refuse to let the landlord access the property.
A landlord would also be able to take back property for their own use or a family member’s, take it back for significant renovations, or just because they want to take it off the rental market. All of those are “good cause” for lease non-renewal under the bill.
But Robert Enten, representing the Maryland Multi-Housing Association, told the Senate committee the bill has too many undefined terms that need clarification.
“Tenant engaging in ‘routine disorderly conduct’ – what does that mean?,” Enten asked. “A tenant ‘repeatedly’ committing ‘minor violations’ — what does ‘repeatedly’ mean? Once? Twice? Three times? … If you want to pass a bill to deal with this, this bill needs a ton of work.”
A final out would be if the tenant refuses an offer of a new lease. Sen. Mike McKay (R-Western Maryland) asked if that could “create a new loophole that will just automatically increase rent?”
“If I just don’t want to rent to somebody for whatever reason, to get around it all, I just say, ‘It’ll be another $500,’” McKay said.
His question hung in the air for a moment, as bill supporters reached for an answer before Committee Chair Will Smith (D-Montgomery) jumped in.
“I think this question is very important, because it speaks to the interconnectivity of all these regulations across the state,” Smith said. “He is absolutely right to ask this question, which shows you that nothing happens in isolation.”
Smith said that if counties do not have protections such as rent stabilization, then McKay’s hypothetical could be real.
“But if you have rent stabilization in your jurisdiction, then you would not be able to raise the rent,” he said, referencing Montgomery County, which has created some rent stabilization policy.
“These are things that you have to kick around in your head when you’re thinking about this,” Smith said. “I like the notion of good cause, but we have a responsibility as a committee to be intellectually honest in how those things fit into the issues of other jurisdictions.”
Sen. Chris West (R-Baltimore and Carroll counties) asked would the bill “advance the state’s goals of creating more rental housing?”
Bill Castelli, representing Maryland Realtors, said the bill could be a deterrent for developers and landlords.
“I think the more control property owners lose in terms of that property – the less control they have of tenants in the property, the less control they have on the property itself in terms of what they charge – that provides less incentive for people to invest in,” Castelli said.
Despite the committee’s questions, Losak said he is still “a bit optimistic” about the bill’s chances this year. He said that passing the bill “changes the dynamic” between tenants and landlords by providing tenants with tools to fight back against unfair landlords.
“The bill itself is fair, just, sensible,” Losak said, “and it’s common sense.”
Later Tuesday, the House Environment and Transportation committee brought up HB 709 as one of last bills of the day.
Last year, the good cause legislation passed the House on a 96-37 vote, but without the Senate counterpart, the bill died. The bill is widely expected to pass the House again this session.
“I’ll be happy when the Senate passes it,” said Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery), chair of the Environment and Transportation Committee, “because that’s what has to happen for us to get something to the governor.”