A recent study of eviction cases in the District Court of Maryland in Baltimore City revealed that 99% of tenants do not have legal representation in eviction proceedings, compared to only 4% of landlords without representation.¹ In order to combat the negative social, economic, and public health costs of displacing families, the Maryland House of Delegates proposed House Bill 18 (“H.B. 18”) which would grant individuals who are facing eviction the right to legal counsel.² H.B. 18 was cross-filed with Senate Bill 154 (“S.B. 154”).³ If passed, the bill will take effect on October 1, 2021 and be fully implemented by October 1, 2025.⁴

Under H.B. 18, an individual who occupies a residential property under a claim of legal right other than owner and whose household income is below 50% of the median Maryland income would have the right to legal counsel in an eviction proceeding.⁵ For reference, a family of four making less than $60,022 annually would have the right to counsel.⁶ The right to counsel extends to cases where a tenant is being evicted, facing retaliatory action by a landlord, awaiting repair of dangerous defects with rent in escrow, or is facing nonjudicial eviction.⁷

H.B. 18 would also establish a Right to Counsel in an Evictions Program administered by the Maryland Legal Service Corporation to organize and supervise the allocation of resources to provide legal representation.⁸ Further, a task force would be established for the purpose of evaluating the quality of the legal representation, making recommendations to improve the program and applying for both public and private grants for additional funding.⁹

H.B. 18 comes on the heels of a Baltimore City ordinance (“Ordinance”) enacted on December 7, 2020 which extended the right to counsel in eviction cases for individuals who are occupying a dwelling under a claim of legal right other than owner in Baltimore City.¹⁰ A notable difference between the Ordinance and H.B. 18 is that Baltimore City did not impose a limitation on household income to establish eligibility to receive legal representation.¹¹ If the bill is passed, it will unquestionably conflict with the Ordinance, as Baltimore City is subject to the control of the Maryland Legislature.¹² As of March 16, 2021, H.B. 18 was passed by the House Judiciary Committee, but was tabled on the floor of the House of Delegates.¹³ S.B. 154 is currently awaiting action in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.¹⁴

Baltimore is only the seventh city to grant tenants a right to counsel in eviction proceedings.¹⁵ Maryland would be the first state to enact a state-wide right to counsel for tenants facing eviction if the bill is passed.¹⁶

Alexa Mellis is a second-year student at the University of Baltimore School of Law and is a Staff Editor for Law Forum. Alexa is currently a corporate counsel extern with Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society of Maryland’s Office of the General Counsel and will be working as a student attorney with the UB Civil Advocacy Clinic in the fall. Alexa will also be serving as Resource Editor on the 2021-2022 Law Forum executive board. Alexa will graduate in May 2022 and intends to pursue a career in medical malpractice defense litigation.

¹ H.B. 18, 2021 Leg., 441st Sess. (Md. 2021); accord S.B. 154, 2021 Leg., 441st Sess. (Md. 2021)

[hereinafter H.B. 18].

² H.B. 18.

³ Id.

⁴ Id. 

⁵ Id.

⁶ Income Guidelines, MD. LEGAL AID, https://www.mdlab.org/get-help-services/income-guidelines/ (last visited Feb. 6, 2021).

⁷ H.B. 18.

⁸ Id.

⁹ Id.

¹⁰ BALTIMORE, MD., CODE art. 13, § 6A-(1)(d)(1) (2021).

¹¹ Compare H.B. 18 § 8-901(C)(2), with CODE art. 13, § 6A-(1)(d)(1) (2021).

¹² Md. Const. art. XI, § 9.

¹³ Richard Montgomery, Annapolis Update: Electronic Execution of Estate Planning Documents / Right to Counsel – Eviction Proceedings, MD. S. BAR ASS’N (Mar. 16, 2021), https://www.msba.org/annapolis- update-electronic-execution-of-estate-planning-documents-right-to-counsel-eviction- proceedings/?fbclid=IwAR3ll7vNg2jvK1VJtv9uNDAFIg3v_WKGbKbECxmauq1iTi2v6sxAQVuSQUU.

¹⁴ Id.

¹⁵ Sandra Park & John Pollock, Tenants’ Right to Counsel is Critical to Fight Mass Evictions and Advance Race Equity During the Pandemic and Beyond, ACLU (Jan. 12, 2021), https://www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/tenants-right-to-counsel-is-critical-to-fight-mass-evictions-and- advance-race-equity-during-the-pandemic-and-beyond/ (New York City, San Francisco, Newark, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Boulder have already passed right to counsel legislation.).

¹⁶ STOUT RISIUS ROSS, THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF AN EVICTION RIGHT TO COUNSEL IN BALTIMORE CITY (2020).