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Debates pitting Maryland鈥檚 tenants against landlords ignited in the House Monday over two bills that aim to increase protections for renters.
One of the bills in question is priority legislation for Gov. Wes Moore (D) as part of his housing package. Moore has testified in both Senate and House committees for his . Moore鈥檚 housing package aims to avoid unnecessary evictions and work to decrease a housing shortage of an estimated 96,000 units.
carries Moore鈥檚 Renter鈥檚 Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024, which would give tenants residing in a rental property the right of first refusal if the landowner wants to sell the property. Tenants would have an opportunity to purchase the property before a third party could buy it.
HB 693 would also increase the court fees that a landlord pays to seek a tenant鈥檚 eviction, among other measures.
But House Minority Leader Jason C. Buckel (R-Allegany) argued that the bill might create an unfriendly market for landlords and developers, which could run counter to efforts aiming to increase the supply of affordable housing opportunities.
鈥淭his bill is disincentivizing,鈥� Buckel said in opposition. 鈥淗ow do I know this? Because they all come here and tell us that. Every group that represents people who invest in these types of property into this sector of the economy 鈥� multifamily housing, building associations, all of them. They all come here and say 鈥榯his doesn鈥檛 work. This is a bad compromise.鈥欌��
Del. Matthew Morgan (R-St. Mary鈥檚) called the bill鈥檚 measure to provide tenants the right of first refusal 鈥渞idiculous.鈥�
鈥淭his misguided legislation is what happens when we allow activists to write the legislation instead of actual professionals that deal with this every day,鈥� he said.
Del. Marvin E. Holmes (D-Prince George鈥檚) defended the right of first refusal as chance for tenants to buy the property they live in, only if the landlord is already looking to sell the unit.
鈥淲hat we鈥檙e trying to do here is make sure that the tenant who was already living in the house has an opportunity to purchase it,鈥� Holmes said.
HB 693 passed 104-34, with Republicans primarily in opposition.
The other tenant protection bill that passed the House Monday is called the Tenant Safety Act of 2024, sponsored by Del. Vaughn Stewart (D-Montgomery). That bill is not part of Moore鈥檚 priority legislation.
would make the 鈥渞enters escrow鈥� process more accessible for situations where landlords do not adequately address life-threatening repairs, by enabling tenants to file a complaint with the local district court and put rent payments in escrow while the complaint is adjudicated.
鈥淭he core problem this bill seeks to salve is, we know that hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, our constituents in Maryland, are living in deplorable conditions that violate our warranty of habitability,鈥� Stewart said. 鈥淲hich means we that slumlords across the state are breaking their lease and subjecting tenants 鈥� to unlivable conditions.鈥�
He says that only a 鈥渢iny fraction鈥� of renters in unlivable conditions file a complaint against the landlord and that the legislation 鈥渓evels the playing field鈥� so that more tenants can utilize the rent escrow process.
鈥淣o good landlord has anything to worry about with this bill. But slumlords 鈥� they should be shaking in their boots right now,鈥� Stewart said.
鈥淭his is about slumlords. This is not about landlord vs. tenant,鈥� he added.
Morgan opposed Stewart鈥檚 bill as well. He said, sarcastically, that he looked forward to when lawmakers decide to legislate against what he called 鈥渟lum-tenants.鈥�
鈥� 鈥� And actually force tenants that are not paying their rent, that are tearing up property and destroying stuff and making it harder to rent houses for the overwhelming majority of tenants that are good,鈥� Morgan said. 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to when the body actually cracks down on that.鈥�
Del. Marc Korman (D-Montgomery), who chairs the Environment and Transportation committee which initially approved HB 1117, argued that committee members try to work with both tenants and landlords to resolve their concerns with housing legislation.
鈥淲e hear a lot from landlords in our committees and we adjust the legislation 鈥� to reflect their feedback,鈥� Korman said.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 true, we also listen to renters, they are also an important constituency. And making sure that they live in safe and stable and clean housing is a goal that we can all share,鈥� he said.
The House approved the Tenants鈥� Safety Act, on a 104-34 party line vote.
Another piece of Moore鈥檚 housing package, which would make it easier for developers of affordable housing to get financing, has already passed the House and was assigned to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee, where the Senate version of the bill resides. The committee 鈥� and the full Senate 鈥� is expected to move one of those bills.
Administration officials are confident that a that鈥檚 also part of the governor鈥檚 affordable housing initiative will also pass soon.
