Tenants could get more power to stay in their homes when a lease expires, under a bill Montgomery County’s state lawmakers are considering.
Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Silver Spring) said at a hearing last week that a landlord would need to have “just cause” to evict a tenant who wanted to renew a lease.
The bill, so far, does not have the full support of the delegation. Del. Kathleen Dumais (D-Rockville) said she has reservations because a landlord could be stuck with “lifetime tenancy.”
The tenant bill was one of several the delegation reviewed on Tuesday. The public was invited to speak about the bills or submit written comments.
The delegation annually invites public comment on its bills in the lead-up to the annual General Assembly session, which starts next month. The delegation then votes whether to pursue them, amend them or withdraw them.
Lawmakers reviewed other bills at a similar public hearing a week earlier.
During Tuesday’s hearing, a measure forcing the Housing Opportunities Commission and its committees to hold more meetings in public drew support from speakers critical of the entity’s handling of meetings and a controversy involving the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition.
Several members of the coalition were particularly pointed in their criticism, saying the HOC refuses to talk to them about their attempts to preserve a historically Black cemetery in the Westbard community.
Del. Al Carr (D-Kensington), the bill sponsor, was more specific in describing the intent of the legislation, saying that more than 100 private HOC meetings in five years had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act. He called the openness requirements in the bill an attempt “to restore public trust.”
The HOC is a government-funded entity that works on affordable-housing issues. Carr said it has about $300 million in annual revenues.
HOC Executive Director Stacy Spann spoke against the bill, saying it is not needed — and might be too restrictive — after the agency made changes to comply with the state Open Meetings Act after a state oversight board in November found violations.
Spann said the agency does not want to be treated differently than other agencies.
Sen. Ben Kramer (D-Derwood) asked Spann why he couldn’t talk directly to Carr to go over the lingering problems. Spann said Carr could have called him, too.
Wilkins’ bill to bolster tenants’ rights would allow landlords the right to evict at the end of lease only under certain conditions. Those include a substantial breach of the lease, repeated disorderly conduct, illegal activity, and refusing to grant access to the landlord to make repairs or do inspections.
Dumais said the bill might infringe on owners’ rights to rent their property as they see fit. But Wilkins argued that “it’s my property” has been a justification in the past for discrimination.
Under the current law, landlords need to give tenants 60 days’ notice if they don’t intend to renew a lease.
The county delegation voted 17-6 last year in favor of pursuing a similar bill Wilkins submitted, but it was defeated by a House committee.
Other measures the delegation considered last week included:
- Expanding the county’s public financing system that helps candidates for executive and County Council, so it would apply to four more positions: state’s attorney, register of wills, clerk of the circuit court and sheriff.
- Imposing new authority for Montgomery County and its municipalities to regulate tree-trimming by utilities. Carr said that years ago, Pepco blamed overgrown trees for power outages and was given more leeway to trim them, but the utility now faces criticism that it is overusing that power.
- A pilot program that would allow Montgomery County to sell venison. Del. David Fraser-Hidalgo (D-Boyds) said deer have become a harmful nuisance in the county 93,000-acre agricultural reserve, causing millions of dollars in crop damage. Farmers can fight back with deer management permits that allow them to hunt out of season, he said.
