House General and Housing reviews H.772: faster ejectment process, trespass orders and rental-assistance funding

Members of the House General and Housing committee reviewed the draft landlord‑tenant bill H.772 on Feb. 25, 2026, outlining a new, expedited ejectment process and related tenant‑landlord protections and programs.

The bill creates a faster, targeted process for two categories of landlord filings: nonpayment of rent and material breaches of rental agreements. Counsel told the committee the defendant would have 14 days after service to file an answer; if the defendant fails to answer, the landlord may move for possession and the court must decide the default motion within five days absent good cause. For show‑cause claims based on danger to others, counsel said the bill schedules a show‑cause hearing within 10 days of an answer and, if live testimony is required, a final hearing within 21 days of that show‑cause hearing. The committee repeatedly noted an overarching statutory goal of reducing typical case timelines from months to roughly 60 days "in many cases," while acknowledging the judiciary’s calendars remain a practical constraint.

Speaker 1 summarized the approach in plain terms: "we're trying to cut it in half essentially," and described the bill as grouping reasons for ejectment into tenant‑caused problems (dangerous tenant or nonpayment) and landlord‑initiated reasons (lease termination at term,…