What Tenant Protections Exist in Takoma Park?
Takoma Park has been at the forefront of renter protections in the State of Maryland, through the implementation of a number of policies. We will briefly go over a few of the policies and programs that exist to help renters in Takoma Park.
- Rent Stabilization provides limits on the amount rents can be raised annually which allows renters to continue to live in the City.
- The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Law (TOPL) which gives tenants the first right to purchase their rental home or assign their rights if it is being sold. We also provide financial assistance for tenants exploring purchasing their building to help them exercise their rights.
- The Commission on Landlord Tenant Affairs (COLTA) provides a quasi-judicial forum to adjudicate landlord-tenant disputes instead of Court. The Commission is made up of community members who rule on cases.
- A Community Engagement Specialist who assists with referrals to legal aid groups and county agencies as well as provides mediation between landlords and tenants. In FY 2024 our office handled roughly 800 cases.
- The Emergency Assistance Program provides funds up to $3,600 for households who are facing an eviction due to rent owed or facing a foreclosure and $1,400 for renters or homeowners who have received a disconnection notice from a utility provider.
- Annual or Biannual inspections of all rental units to proactively find and correct issues as part of the City’s Rental Licensing Program. Most of our rental units are inspected annually while some rental units are allowed to be inspected biannually (if they have five or fewer minor violations).
- A Tenant Displacement Ordinance to require landlords to house and compensate renters if their unit is severely damaged through no fault of their own.
- A County law to notice and potentially compensate tenants who may be displaced due to redevelopment or condominium conversion.
- In FY 2025, there is additional funding for a Renters Insurance Incentive Program Pilot to encourage renters to sign up for renter’s insurance as well as funding for tenant legal counseling and organizing. HCD Is working on these programs and will be releasing more information soon!
HCD also has put together a housing resources guide which has contacts at community agencies, and providers who can meet the housing, legal services, utilities assistance, and social service needs. The guide is in English, Amharic, and Spanish.
What more could be done?
The two most impactful policies that could be implemented require state level changes. The first is a ‘good cause’ eviction. Current state law allows landlords to provide a two-month, no cause notice to evict a tenant. A good cause eviction would require the landlord to provide a reason before issuing an eviction notice. The second policy would be a right to counsel law. Currently, there is no right for tenants to have representation at eviction hearings. This puts tenants often at a disadvantage to landlords who are usually represented.
