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Montgomery County: rising eviction writs fueling family homelessness and higher motel costs
Summary
County officials told the Health and Human Services Committee that eviction writs and service demand have increased sharply, driving families into motel sheltering and straining prevention budgets; officials urged investments in SHARP, rental assistance and permanent supportive housing to limit costly motel use.
Montgomery County health officials told the Health and Human Services Committee that growing numbers of eviction writs are driving a sharp rise in family homelessness and swelling motel-sheltering costs.
Director Hong said the Jan. 24, 2024 point-in-time count showed a 28% overall increase in homelessness and a 47% increase among families. She said the county can serve 27 families in its three family shelters but currently has about 140 families in the system, with the balance placed in motels.
"The January 24th point-in-time count indicated an overall increase in homelessness by 28%," Director Hong said. She identified eviction activity as a key driver: eviction writs rose from about 2,700 in FY22 to 7,100 in FY23 and to 8,200 in FY24, and executed evictions also increased.
The county's motel shelter budget for FY25 is $3.3 million, with projected expenditures the department estimates could reach roughly $3.9 million. Officials said emergency rental assistance tied to COVID (ERAP) ended and that the eviction prevention budget for the year is $4.7 million; at current spending rates of about $500,000 per month those prevention funds could be exhausted by spring.
Officials argued that short-term rental subsidy programs can be far cheaper and more effective than prolonged motel sheltering. The SHARP program — a 12-month short-term rental and navigation subsidy funded by grants, not county general funds — has housed more than 600 households since its launch and posted a 97% retention rate for families and about 79% overall, the department said.
"We don't want to be spending millions of dollars on motels — permanent housing and prevention are the solution," Director Hong said.
County staff told councilmembers they have extracted savings by moving COVID isolation services from hotels into congregate shelters with CDC-supported protocols; that change reduced hotel spending without increasing outbreaks. But staff warned the seasonal demand (November–March) and continuing increases in eviction activity mean motel spending could rise again.
Councilmembers asked whether reallocating motel dollars to expand SHARP and rapid rehousing could reduce overall costs. Officials said they are analyzing where to find savings but noted pandemic-era expansions in rapid rehousing and SHARP create continuing obligations (12–24 month subsidies) that limit easy short-term cuts.
Next steps identified by the department included prioritizing eviction prevention, seeking state and federal relief for rental subsidies, and applying for federal housing grants to expand permanent supportive housing.
