This article was republished with permission from WTOP’s news partners at .聽Sign up for today.
This content was republished with permission from WTOP鈥檚 news partners at Maryland Matters. Sign up for today.
Democratic leaders from some of Maryland鈥檚 largest jurisdictions joined calls for a temporary statewide eviction moratorium in a letter sent this week to Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R), arguing a more robust stay on evictions would give them time to stand up rent relief programs.
In the聽聽to Hogan, local leaders said they need more time to get federal rent relief funding to tenants and landlords. The letter, which was posted to the Maryland Association of Counties鈥櫬�, was signed by Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott, Baltimore City Council President Nick J. Mosby and County Executives Angela D. Alsobrooks of Prince George鈥檚 County, Calvin B. Ball III (Howard), Marc B. Elrich (Montgomery), Jan H. Gardner (Frederick), and Steuart L. Pittman Jr. (Anne Arundel).
鈥淲e have the funding to keep people in their homes, but the State and counties need time to ensure that it reaches our communities,鈥� the local leaders, all Democrats, wrote. 鈥淕overnor Hogan, we urge you to take the critical step of declaring a targeted 90鈥�120-day moratorium on failure to pay rent and tenant-holding-over eviction hearings in order to provide that time.鈥�
Tenant-holding-over actions, which can occur when a tenant remains on a property after a lease ends, have seen an increase during the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, housing advocates have called on officials and legislators to expand current protections to include tenant-holding-over filings.
In asking for a longer moratorium, the local leaders joined a broad coalition of fair housing advocates, community groups and faith organizations that have petitioned Hogan for a聽聽on evictions after several tenant relief efforts聽聽during the General Assembly鈥檚 2021 legislative session.
That coalition argues that Hogan鈥檚 current executive order 鈥� which provides tenants a defense in聽聽if they can prove a substantial loss of income tied to the COVID-19 pandemic 鈥� won鈥檛 be enough on its own to protect tenants as courts work through a massive backlog of eviction cases. That order is tied to Maryland鈥檚 state of emergency.
鈥淩ight now in many counties across the state, thousands of people are suddenly simultaneously facing eviction and courts are using 鈥榬ocket dockets鈥� to work through case backlogs,鈥� the coalition鈥檚 letter to Hogan and an accompanying petition read.
The local leaders wrote that a temporary stay on evictions would benefit tenants and landlords alike: Tenants would have time to apply for assistance and get relief funding, and landlords wouldn鈥檛 have to deal with 鈥渢ime-consuming and costly process of evicting tenants and re-leasing units,鈥� the letter reads. Maryland has received more than $400 million in rental assistance funding during the pandemic, with more on the way as part of the latest federal stimulus package, according to the letter.
Hogan鈥檚 order was effective in keeping many tenants in their homes, particularly while courts were closed due to COVID-19, the local leaders wrote, but some evictions are still slipping through.
鈥淚n this challenging time, many people fail to attend hearings for a number of reasons, including COVID-related health concerns and inability to take time off of work,鈥� the letter reads.
Between 109,000 and 204,000 renter households and Maryland could currently be at risk of eviction, according to聽聽from the Chicago-based consulting firm Stout.
Earlier this week, a federal judge聽聽a Centers for Disease Control stay on evictions, arguing the agency had overstepped its authority in issuing such an order. That order largely mirrored Hogan鈥檚 emergency tenant protections in providing renters with an affirmative defense in court.
