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College Park adopts ‘early lease’ ordinance limiting landlords’ renewal offers
Summary
The College Park Mayor and Council on Feb. 3 adopted Ordinance 25-013, an “early lease” law that limits when landlords may offer renewals and establishes civil fines and limited court-ordered relief; the measure was driven by sustained student testimony about aggressive early-renewal tactics.
College Park’s Mayor and Council on Feb. 3 adopted Ordinance 25-013 as amended, a local law that restricts how early landlords can offer lease renewals and adds civil penalties for violations.
The ordinance, described in detail by City Attorney Stephanie Anderson during the meeting, bars landlords from making renewal offers earlier than 180 days before the end of a tenant’s current lease and says landlords may not require a tenant to sign a successive lease until at least 15 days after the new lease has been sent to the tenant. The ordinance also sets civil fines and limited court remedies: "Any landlord or landlord's agent who violates this section commits a civil infraction punishable by a fine of not less than $500 for the first offense, and not less than $2,500 for each additional or subsequent offense," Anderson read aloud, and she said a court can order up to two months' rent as part of relief.
Why it mattered
The ordinance followed months of work with student liaisons,…
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