SB 454
Department of Legislative Services
Maryland General Assembly
2021 Session
FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
First Reader
Senate Bill 454 (Senator Sydnor)
Judicial Proceedings
Real Property – Alterations in Actions for Repossession and Establishment of
Eviction Diversion Program
This bill creates an Eviction Diversion Program in the District Court to reduce the
incidence of judgments for repossession of residential property and to promote continuity
of housing. The Chief Judge of the District Court (1) must establish the program in each
county that processed 10,000 or more claims for the repossession of residential property in
fiscal 2019 and (2) may establish the program in each county that processed 10,000 or
fewer claims in fiscal 2019. The bill also makes various procedural changes in failure to
pay rent cases, including requiring a status conference between the parties and expanding
permitted lengths of stay after a judgment for possession has been awarded.
Fiscal Summary
State Effect: General fund expenditures increase by a minimum of $1.2 million beginning
in FY 2022. Minimal decrease in general fund/special fund revenues associated with filing
fees, as discussed below.
($ in millions) FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025 FY 2026
GF/SF Rev. (-) (-) (-) (-) (-)
GF Expenditure $1.2 $1.3 $1.4 $1.4 $1.5
Net Effect ($1.2) ($1.3) ($1.4) ($1.4) ($1.5)
Note:() = decrease; GF = general funds; FF = federal funds; SF = special funds; - = indeterminate increase; (-) = indeterminate decrease
Local Effect: The bill is not anticipated to materially affect local government operations
or finances.
Small Business Effect: Meaningful.
 Analysis
Bill Summary: Each Eviction Diversion Program must (1) facilitate at-court or remote
screening of tenants and the provision of eviction prevention service provider services as
appropriate and (2) operate in support of the District Court’s docket management for
actions under Title 8, Subtitle 4 of the Real Property Article (landlord-tenant matters).
An “Eviction Prevention Service Provider” is a governmental, nonprofit, or charitable
organization that provides the following services for the purpose of preventing housing
insecurity, eviction, or homelessness:
 social work services;
 counseling;
 financial assistance for rent or relocation;
 alternative dispute resolution; or
 civil legal aid.
Landlord Responsibilities
The bill requires that, within five days after receiving a request from a tenant, a landlord
must provide the tenant with a written statement that (1) lists all debts and credits made
during the tenancy and (2) identifies any past due rent that the tenant must pay in order to
maintain the tenancy.
In addition to existing statutory requirements, prior to filing a failure to pay rent claim in
the District Court, the bill requires a landlord to deliver written notice to the tenant that
meets specified requirements, including:
 the date of the notice and a description of the manner of delivery of the notice;
 a description of the past due rent in dispute, including the amounts of rent and late
fees due to the landlord, excluding charges related to utilities, services, other fees,
fines, or court costs, and the specific periods of time to which the past due rent and
fees correspond;
 a statement informing the tenant that, on request of the tenant, the landlord will
promptly provide an itemized accounting of debts and credits;
 a request that the tenant apply for financial assistance from a service provider or that
the tenant negotiate a payment plan through the District Court Alternative Dispute
Resolution (ADR) Office, or the Eviction Diversion Program;
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 a statement that the landlord may initiate an action for repossession in the
District Court if the tenant does not respond within 10 days after delivery of the
written notice and that the tenant has the legal right to dispute the charges; and
 contact information for the landlord and specified resources, including, if
applicable, the Eviction Diversion Program.
The written notice must be delivered by first-class mail and affixed to the door of the
premises, or if elected by the tenant, delivered by email. On delivery of the notice and for
10 days after the date of delivery, the landlord must make affirmative, good-faith efforts to
resolve the claim. Such efforts may include (1) when applicable, cooperating with or
facilitating the tenant’s application for financial assistance for rent from a governmental,
nonprofit, or charitable entity and (2) negotiating a payment plan or other agreement
through the local court’s Eviction Diversion Program or ADR Office. A landlord is
prohibited from filing a complaint prior to satisfying these requirements.
The requirements are also deemed satisfied if the tenant (1) does not respond within
10 days after delivery of the notice; (2) fails or refuses to participate in the completion of
an application for financial assistance for rent, the negotiation of a payment plan, or other
agreement; or (3) materially breaches the terms of a payment plan or other agreement made
in an effort to resolve the claim.
Complaint for Repossession of Residential Property
Under the bill, a complaint for repossession must include a statement on a form provided
by the court that:
 affirms and states the date that the landlord delivered the required notice;
 certifies that the landlord made an affirmative, good-faith effort to resolve the
landlord’s claim through the application of financial assistance or negotiation of a
payment plan or other agreement, and that these efforts are complete;
 describes when efforts were initiated and completed; and
 states that all efforts made failed to satisfy the landlord’s claim.
A tenant may challenge assertions made by a landlord, and the court may dismiss the
landlord’s complaint on a showing of sufficient cause.
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Procedural Alterations
The bill repeals statutory provisions that refer to the tenant’s appearance at trial on the
fifth day after the filing of the complaint, including the requirement that if a trial has not
occurred and the tenant has not become current (on rent) since the filing of the complaint,
the court must enter a judgment in favor of the landlord if the complaint so requests.
Instead, the landlord and tenant must appear before the court for a status conference
between 10 and 15 days after the complaint is filed. A party may request, and the court
must subsequently grant, a recess for a reasonable time to allow for the immediate on-site
or remote screening by an available service provider or, if established for the District Court
of the county where the property is located, the court’s Eviction Diversion Program. The
bill also repeals provisions that authorize the court to adjourn a trial under specified
circumstances to enable either party to procure necessary witnesses. Instead, the bill
establishes that, on request of a party made at any time after the filing of a complaint up to
the commencement of a trial on the merits of the complaint, the court must grant a
continuance to allow time for the requesting party to seek attorney representation. After
the granting of a continuance, the court may grant further continuances, as specified.
At the status conference, the court must review the complaint for sufficiency and hear from
each party on their efforts to resolve the complaint. The court may order the parties to
participate in mediation or a settlement conference through the court’s ADR Office or, if
established, the court’s Eviction Diversion Program. The court may continue the status
conference in order to accomplish an alternative resolution, as specified.
If the parties agree to resolve the landlord’s complaint without a trial on the merits, they
must submit an agreement to the judge who, if satisfied that the terms of the agreement are
fair and equitable, must dismiss the landlord’s complaint. If the parties do not agree to
resolve the landlord’s complaint, the court must allow the tenant to present any defense or
a counterclaim, related to rent or debts, to the landlord’s complaint.
If the court is satisfied that the tenant has proffered a meritorious defense or counterclaim,
the court must schedule a trial to be held no more than 10 days after the date on which the
defense or counterclaim was heard. The court may order a party to provide to the other
party a copy of any written instrument, not privileged, on which a claim or defense is based
in advance of a trial.
The court must dismiss the complaint if the landlord or the landlord’s agent or attorney fail
to appear at the status conference. The court may grant judgment on the landlord’s
complaint in accordance with statutory provisions if the tenant or tenant’s attorney fails to
appear for the status conference. If both parties attend the conference, but are unable to
reach a resolution, the court may schedule a trial to decide the matter.
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Following a judgment in favor of the landlord, the bill increase the time for repossession
of the property from within 4 days to 10 days after the trial, or later than 10 days if the
tenant demonstrates that the surrender of the premises within 10 days would endanger the
health or life of the tenant or any other occupant of the premises. The bill makes numerous
conforming changes regarding the 10-day timeframe and repeals the requirement that the
tenant present a certificate signed by a physician.
The bill also repeals the 15-day limit on the extension of time for repossession, granting
the court unlimited discretion in determining how long a tenant has to vacate the property
if health and safety concerns prevent the tenant from vacating the premises within the initial
10 days. The court may also order an emergency stay of execution of a warrant of
restitution for a residential property on a motion presenting evidence that eviction of the
tenant would endanger the health or life of the tenant or any other occupant of the premises,
or impede an imminent act by a governmental or charitable organization to prevent the
homelessness of the tenant or any other occupant of the premises.
Current Law: In general, a landlord seeking to evict a tenant initiates the process by filing
the appropriate action (e.g., failure to pay rent, breach of lease, etc.) in the District Court.
If awarded a judgment by the court, the landlord files a warrant of restitution, which, once
reviewed and signed by the court, authorizes an eviction. The warrants of restitution are
forwarded to the local sheriff’s office, who is then authorized to carry out the evictions.
Statute sets forth numerous specific requirements for such actions, including those related
to written notice prior to filing certain actions.
In failure to pay rent actions, if judgment is in favor of the landlord and the tenant does not
return the premises to the landlord or otherwise satisfy the judgment by paying the
applicable rent and late fees within 4 days, as specified, the court must, at any time after
4 days have elapsed, issue a warrant of restitution. The court may, upon presentation of a
certificate signed by a physician certifying that surrendering the property within the 4-day
period would endanger the health or life of the tenant or other occupant, extend the time
for surrender of the premises as justice may require, up to 15 days. Statutory provisions
also authorize stays of execution in other specified circumstances, such as in the event of
extreme weather conditions.
If the landlord does not order a warrant of restitution within 60 days from either the date
of judgment or the expiration date of any stay of execution (whichever is later), then (1) the
judgment for possession must be stricken and (2) the judgment must generally count toward
the threshold for the number of judgments at which a tenant no longer has the right to
redemption of the leased premises, as specified.
State Expenditures: General fund expenditures for the Judiciary increase by a minimum
of $1,236,648 in fiscal 2022, as discussed below. The bill requires that the District Court
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establish the Eviction Diversion Program in counties that processed more than
10,000 claims for repossession of residential property in fiscal 2019. The Judiciary advises
that 10 counties meet this criteria, as illustrated in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1
Repossession of Residential Property Claims
Fiscal 2019
County Total Claims
Allegany 1,650
Anne Arundel* 63,120
Baltimore City* 199,859
Baltimore County* 270,670
Calvert 8,863
Caroline 1,053
Carroll 3,058
Cecil 6,244
Charles 8,999
Dorchester 3,519
Frederick* 10,065
Garrett 343
Harford* 19,832
Howard* 30,245
Kent 354
Montgomery* 60,226
Prince George’s* 184,423
Queen Anne’s 431
Somerset 3,954
St. Mary’s 5,706
Talbot 763
Washington* 13,120
Wicomico* 14,630
Worcester 1,483
*Required to have an Eviction Diversion Program under the bill.
Source: Judiciary; Department of Legislative Services
The Judiciary advises that implementation of the bill necessitates significant expenditures,
including those associated with computer programming costs, additional District Court
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clerks to reflect the increased workload from the protracted process for failure to pay rent
cases (e.g., required status conferences), and anticipated increased referrals to the
District Court ADR Program. Accordingly, general fund expenditures increase by a
minimum of $1,236,648 in fiscal 2022 to hire eight District Court clerks for the
highest-volume jurisdictions, one District Court Clerk coordinator, six ADR roster
program managers, and one data analyst. This estimate includes salaries, fringe benefits,
one-time start-up cost (including computer programming cost), and ongoing operating
expenses.
Positions 16.0
Salaries and Fringe Benefits $1,041,886
Operating Expenses 89,300
One-time Programming Costs 105,462
Minimum FY 2022 General Fund Expenditures $1,236,648
Future year administrative expenditures, which increase from $1,334,755 in fiscal 2023 to
$1,475,021 by fiscal 2026, reflect full salaries with annual increases and employee turnover
and ongoing operating expenses. As noted, this estimate reflects minimum expenditures
and likely does not fully reflect implementation costs of the Eviction Diversion Programs
in the jurisdictions. To the extent that the District Court can implement programs through
partnerships with nonprofit entities, volunteers, or other similar resources, significant
additional expenditures may be somewhat mitigated. However, considering the volume of
failure to pay rent actions handled annually and the specific provisions regarding Eviction
Diversion Programs within the bill, such as their involvement in negotiating payment plans
and otherwise facilitating mediations or settlement conferences, significant expenditures
beyond those shown above are possible.
State Revenues: Any impact on the number of cases filed has a corresponding impact on
general fund filing fee revenues collected by the Judiciary (as well as on special fund
revenues from surcharges imposed on filing fees). To the extent that the bill’s provisions
decrease the number of landlord-tenant cases filed, general/special fund revenues decrease.
For purposes of this fiscal and policy note, it is assumed that general/special fund
expenditures decrease at least minimally from fewer filings.
Small Business Effect: Landlords are subject to more stringent requirements in failure to
pay rent actions, including notice requirements prior to filing, mandated status conference,
and increased waiting periods before property may be reposses