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Renters' advocates urge more eviction protections, fair-chance screening and court fixes
Summary
Tenant advocates, legal aid and civil-rights groups told lawmakers that evictions disproportionately affect Black and low-income renters, that court notice and access-to-counsel problems reduce tenants' ability to defend themselves, and they proposed state measures to replace weakened federal guidance on screening applicants.
Annapolis — A coalition of tenant and legal-aid advocates told the Economic Matters Committee that Maryland needs stronger eviction-prevention resources, fair-housing protections, and procedural fixes in landlord-tenant courts to prevent avoidable housing loss.
Zephyr Shaw of Renters United Maryland said the state faces a shortfall of roughly 275,000 rental units affordable to households at 80% of area median income or below, and that nearly half of that shortage is concentrated among households at 30% AMI or less. Shaw cautioned against conflating tenant protections…
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