A bill which would allow Maryland counties to require landlords to provide a just cause for terminating a residential lease or failing to renew a lease is gaining traction in the Maryland General Assembly. The bill is sponsored by Delegate Jheanelle Wilkins (D) who represents a section of Montgomery County.
“We don’t want residents in our community to be losing the roof over their heads for no reason at all,” Wilkins said in an interview with Montgomery Community Media.
Under current law, landlords must give advance notice to tenants but do not have to provide tenants a reason for their lease ending.
This ambiguity causes renters to feel fearful of landlord retaliation, according to executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance Matt Losak. Renters Losak speaks to are often scared that forming tenant associations or filing too many maintenance requests could lead to eviction.
“It creates a chilling effect on entire renter communities who are afraid to speak up to pursue promised or required services or their rights,” Losak said in an interview with MCM.
The bill would enable counties and Baltimore City to implement their own policy to require landlords give a written, justifiable reason for terminating a lease. While what is considered “justifiable” would vary county-to-county, the bill outlines common reasons for evicting a tenant. This includes the renter creating substantial damage, the renter engaging in illegal activity and if the landlord wants to stop renting out the space.
Landlords who testified against this bill during a February committee hearing said they were concerned that just cause legislation could make it more difficult to evict problem tenants and force landlords into forever leases.
This bill however would allow landlords to keep evicting tenants and the ability to stop renting, Losak said, the only change would be the notification of a reason to evict.
“We’ve heard that nonsense every year from them,” Losak said. “I say to any landlord who says they would never evict anybody without a good reason: Say what the reason is.”
Losak began advocating for just cause eviction legislation in 2010 when he founded the renters alliance. After his landlord attempted to evict him, Losak formed the renters alliance to advocate for rent stabilization, just cause eviction legislation and an end to month-to-month lease fees.
While Losak has seen multiple iterations of just cause eviction bills fail in the General Assembly, he said this year could mark a turning point for this legislation.
Until the 2023 session, just cause eviction bills attempted to create a statewide law implementing just cause requirements on all landlords. This hit hurdles with Republican, and some Democratic, state delegates who were against the bill for their constituency, Losak said.
The new legislation opens the door for counties and Baltimore City to implement their own just cause legislation, with their own interpretations of what counts as a just cause for lease termination. This change makes the legislation less threatening to hesitant state politicians and removed some political roadblocks, according to Losak.
“If their communities do not want to enact this they don’t have to,” Losak said.
New this session is an increase of support from county leaders, renter advocacy groups, and state politicians.
While the Montgomery County Council has not yet taken a position on the bill, the bill has gained support from county council members and County Executive Marc Elrich. The council has previously supported just cause eviction legislation, according to county council Vice President Kate Stewart.
“Every year, the support has just gotten deeper and bigger,” Wilkins said. “This is the year I think that’s recognized and … this is the year for us to get it done.”
