Prince George’s Council approves tenant relocation payments ordinance after heated debate; 6-0-2

Prince George's County Council on May 27 enacted CB 17-2025, a landlord-tenant relations bill that requires relocation payments for tenants when rental housing is deemed unfit for human habitation. The ordinance passed the council floor vote with six ayes, zero noes and two abstentions.

Council members and members of the public spent more than an hour debating the scope of the bill and exemptions for landlord liability. Supporters said the measure would ensure displaced tenants receive prompt assistance; opponents — chiefly property owners and managers — warned the law could burden affordable housing operators and expose landlords to large costs even when damage was caused by tenants.

The bill requires landlords to provide relocation payments when a unit is temporarily or permanently uninhabitable, and it specifies payment formulas for permanent displacement including three months’ rent at fair market value. The ordinance includes a narrow set of exemptions already in the draft: small landlords (five or fewer dwelling units), buildings condemned due to natural disaster, and single-owner two-unit dwellings where the owner occupies one unit. On the…