SB 910
Department of Legislative Services
Maryland General Assembly
2021 Session
FISCAL AND POLICY NOTE
First Reader
Senate Bill 910 (Senator Smith)
Judicial Proceedings
COVID-19 Eviction and Housing Relief Act of 2021
This emergency bill makes numerous changes to and imposes various requirements relating
to the eviction process in the State. Among other things, the bill (1) requires the Department
of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) to compile, maintain, and publish on
its website specified eviction data; (2) establishes a Maryland Rent Relief Fund to be
administered by DHCD; (3) implements numerous requirements for landlords prior to
initiating an eviction-related action; (4) establishes just cause eviction requirements and
specified affirmative defenses; and (5) requires local sheriffs and constables that execute
evictions to provide specified notice and assist with the collection and reporting of data.
Although an emergency bill, numerous provisions have delayed effective dates; some are
also subject to termination, as described in greater detail below.
Fiscal Summary
State Effect: General fund expenditures increase by at least $302,700 in FY 2021. Future
year general fund expenditures reflect annualization, ongoing costs, and $1.0 million
annually in FY 2022 through 2025 to capitalize the newly established fund. Special fund
revenues and expenditures increase correspondingly. General fund revenues are not
anticipated to be materially affected.
($ in millions) FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 FY 2024 FY 2025
SF Revenue $0 $1.0 $1.0 $1.0 $1.0
GF Expenditure $0.3 $1.4 $1.4 $1.4 $1.4
SF Expenditure $0 $1.0 $1.0 $1.0 $1.0
Net Effect ($0.3) ($1.4) ($1.4) ($1.4) ($1.4)
Note:() = decrease; GF = general funds; FF = federal funds; SF = special funds; - = indeterminate increase; (-) = indeterminate decrease
Local Effect: Local expenditures increase in some jurisdictions for additional staff to
implement provisions required under the bill. Potential local government grant revenues
and program/matching fund expenditures, as discussed below. This bill imposes a
mandate on a unit of local government.
Small Business Effect: Meaningful.
Analysis
Bill Summary:
Data Collection and Publication (Emergency Provisions Effective upon Enactment)
DHCD, in consultation with the Judiciary and local sheriffs and constables charged with
executing warrants of restitution or writs of possession, must collect, compile, maintain,
and publish eviction data on DHCD’s website. “Eviction data” means, in regards to
specified actions, the (1) zip code and census tract of the subject premises; (2) date of
execution of the warrant or writ; and (3) type of action from which the warrant or writ was
issued.
DHCD must organize, format, and make the “eviction data” available for download, as
specified, and must publish the monthly eviction data within 21 days following the end of
each month.
A local sheriff or constable who is charged with the execution of warrants of restitution or
writs of possession must (1) compile eviction data in a method and format designated by
DHCD and (2) report eviction data monthly to DHCD within five business days after the
end of a month.
Eviction Notice Requirement (Emergency Provisions Effective upon Enactment)
Sheriffs or constables must provide written notice of an eviction to a tenant, assignee, or
subtenant at least 48 hours prior to executing a warrant of restitution for residential property
by posting the notice on the front door of the premises. Notice must be provided, as
specified, if the date is rescheduled. Similar provisions are established for persons residing
in a mobile home or in actions relating to foreclosures.
Maryland Rent Relief Fund (Emergency Provisions Effective upon Enactment)
The bill establishes a special nonlapsing fund to be used for residential rent forgiveness
and eviction prevention. The fund’s purpose is to provide grants to support the residential
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rent relief and eviction prevention efforts of local jurisdictions. DHCD must administer
this fund. Local jurisdictions that receive grants from the fund must match the amount of
the grant and either establish a residential rent forgiveness program that provides funds
directly to landlords or establish an eviction prevention program that provides funds
directly to renters.
Local jurisdictions that elect to provide funds directly to a landlord must reserve 10% of
the program’s funds for landlords that lease 10 or fewer units. However, local jurisdictions
may distribute such reserved funding to a landlord that leases more than 10 units if the
local jurisdiction is unable to distribute the funds to a landlord that leases 10 or fewer units.
Landlords that receive funds from the program to cover the unpaid rent of a tenant must
(1) agree to forgive 20% of the past due rent owed by a tenant; (2) waive all fees and costs
incurred by the tenant for failure to pay rent (including utility fees); and (3) not file for
eviction as well as dismiss any complaint already filed against a tenant.
The fund consists of money appropriated in the State budget to the fund and any other
money accepted for the fund’s benefit. Interest earnings must be credited to the general
fund. Money expended from the fund is supplemental to and not intended to take the place
of funding for similar purposes that would have otherwise been appropriated.
These provisions remain in effect through April 30, 2025, after which time they are
abrogated with no further action required by the General Assembly.
“Know Your Rights” Program
Beginning June 1, 2021, DHCD, in consultation with the Judiciary and appropriate
stakeholders, must collect and compile information to help residential tenants and landlords
understand their legal rights in an eviction proceeding. This includes:
 information on the legal rights of a tenant in an eviction proceeding, including that
an eviction is a legal process and a landlord may not remove a tenant from the
property without due process of law;
 affirmative defenses that are available to a tenant in an eviction proceeding;
 references to agency orders and executive orders currently in effect that alter the
State’s eviction proceedings;
 resources that are available to tenants who are facing a potential eviction;
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 a sample fair and equitable payment plan for use in a failure to pay rent case; and
 additional information on the rights of tenants and landlords in eviction proceedings.
Under the bill, DHCD must:
 post the collected information on its website in English as well as other appropriate
languages;
 distribute the information to stakeholders and the housing agencies of local
jurisdictions;
 create a “Know Your Rights” document that summarizes the information and
contains the website address to DHCD’s full collection of information; and
 update the information as needed and ensure that updated copies of the “Know Your
Rights” document are distributed.
The Maryland Judiciary must post the information collected by DHCD on the Judiciary’s
website in English as well as other appropriate languages.
The “Know Your Rights” document and collected information must include specific
COVID-19 eviction prevention protections, including all in effect federal executive orders
and agency orders (including the orders issued by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention), and all in effect executive orders issued by the Governor of Maryland.
A landlord of residential property must (1) provide a current or prospective tenant with a
“Know Your Rights” document when the landlord executes or renews a residential lease
and (2) when the landlord files a complaint with the District Court seeking to evict a tenant,
submit an affidavit stating that the landlord provided the tenant with a copy of the “Know
Your Rights” document.
Eviction Moratorium (Emergency Provisions Effective upon Enactment)
The bill establishes a moratorium on residential evictions during the state of emergency
declared by the Governor in the proclamation of March 5, 2020. “Evict” means to take any
action, judicial or nonjudicial, to initiate, maintain, or enforce the removal of a tenant from
residential property. The provisions are applicable only to residential leases. Pursuant to
the provisions, a landlord may not evict a residential tenant during the moratorium. If the
court finds that a landlord evicted a tenant in violation of the moratorium, the court may
order the immediate restoration of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment of the residential property.
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The provisions may not be construed as relieving any person of any obligation to make
payments or to comply with any other obligation that the person may have under a lease.
These emergency provisions are effective from the date upon which the bill passes until
one day after the Governor rescinds the March 5, 2020 “Declaration of State of Emergency
and Existence of Catastrophic Health Emergency – COVID-19.”
Just Cause Evictions and Affirmative Defenses
The following provisions are effective upon the abrogation of the statewide eviction
moratorium and remain in effect until April 30, 2022.
Just Cause Evictions: A landlord may not evict a tenant from a dwelling unit that is subject
to a residential lease, written or oral, except for just cause. Just cause exists if:
 a tenant has caused a substantial breach of the lease or substantial damage to the
leased premises or another area of the property and, after receiving notice to cure or
correct the breach or pay the reasonable cost of repairing the damage, the tenant
fails to comply;
 after receiving notice to cease, a tenant continues to engage in disorderly conduct
that disturbs other tenants’ peaceful enjoyment of the premises;
 a tenant has engaged in illegal activity on the leased premises or on a public
right-of-way abutting the leased premises;
 a tenant, without reasonable cause, refuses to grant the landlord access to the leased
premises for the purpose of making repairs or improvements or inspecting the leased
premises, or as otherwise authorized under the residential lease or applicable law;
 a landlord, in good faith, seeks to recover possession of the leased premises for use
by the landlord or the landlord’s spouse, child, parent, or grandparent;
 a landlord, in good faith, seeks to permanently remove the leased premises from the
rental market; or
 a landlord, after having obtained all necessary permits, seeks to undertake
substantial repairs or renovations that cannot be completed while the leased
premises are occupied.
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A landlord may file to evict a tenant only after providing the tenant with no less than
60 days’ notice. Such notice must state the just cause on which the action is based and be
sent by first-class mail, return receipt requested. The basis for just cause must be included
in the complaint filed in the District Court. The landlord must plead and prove the specific
facts that demonstrate just cause. If the court finds that a landlord has evicted a tenant in
violation of these provisions, the court may order the immediate restoration of the tenant’s
quiet enjoyment.
Affirmative Defense: A tenant may raise substantial loss of income, as specified, as an
affirmative defense in an eviction proceeding. A court may not give any judgment for
possession or repossession, or warrant for restitution of possession or repossession of
residential property, if the tenant can demonstrate to the court, through documentation or
other objectively verifiable means, that (1) a tenant has suffered a substantial loss of income
and (2) due to the substantial loss of income, the tenant is unable to pay rent or utility fees,
or will be homeless if the tenant is evicted. Similar provisions are established for tenant
holding over and breach of lease actions. The fact that a tenant, or any other person
permissibly cohabitating with the tenant, has a confirmed case of COVID-19 may not
constitute a “clear and imminent danger” under specified statutory provisions regarding a
breach of lease. Except for as specifically provided in these provisions, existing statutory
provisions remain in effect in accordance with their terms. The provisions may not be
construed as relieving any person of any obligation to make payments or comply with any
other obligation under a lease.
Additional Requirement for Failure to Pay Rent Disputes (Emergency Provisions)
The following provisions are effective from the bill’s date of enactment and terminate
April 30, 2022.
Threshold Amounts: A landlord may not file a complaint for failure to pay rent under a
residential lease if the tenant or tenants owe less than $600 of unpaid rent, excluding any
late fees or utility bills. The bill makes conforming changes regarding information that
must be stated on written complaints.
Notice Requirements: Before a landlord can file a complaint for the repossession of
residential property in failure to pay rent actions, the landlord must deliver a notice to the
tenant, as specified, which includes:
 the date of the notice and a description of the manner of delivery of the notice;
 a description of the past due rent the landlord claims is due and owing, including
the amount of rent due to the landlord, as specified;
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 a request that the tenant take the following steps within 10 days after receipt of the
notice: (1) notify the landlord of any substantial loss of income resulting from
COVID-19 or the Governor’s related proclamation issued March 5, 2020, including
substantial loss of income due to job loss, reduction in compensated hours of work,
closure of place of employment, or the need to miss work to care for a home-bound,
school-age child; (2) notify the landlord of the status of any application for rental
assistance that the tenant intends to use to satisfy the amount of rent due and owing
to the landlord; (3) if no application for rental assistance is pending, request an
appointment with the landlord for the purpose of completing a rental assistance
application; and (4) if the tenant has been found ineligible for rental assistance, set
an appointment with the landlord to negotiate a payment plan through a neutral
third-party mediator;
 the contact information for the landlord;
 a statement that the landlord may initiate an action for repossession of the rental
property 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;
 contact information for local providers of rental assistance and free civil legal
services; and
 contact information for the District Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Office
and the District Court’s help centers.
During the 10 days after the day on which the notice is delivered, the landlord must make
affirmative, good-faith efforts to cure the unpaid rent, including, as applicable, initiating
an application for rental assistance or cooperating with the tenant’s application for rental
assistance and, if the landlord cannot secure payment of the rent through an application for
rental assistance, negotiating a fair and equitable payment plan or other agreement through
the District Court’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Office. The requirements are satisfied
if a tenant does not respond within 10 days after delivery of the notice, fails or refuses to
participate, as specified, or materially breaches the terms of a payment plan or other
agreement.
When filing a complaint for the repossession of a residential property, the landlord must
also complete a statement on a new form provided by the District Court that:
 affirms and states the date that the landlord delivered the required notice;
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 certifies that the landlord has no knowledge of a substantial loss of income suffered
by the tenant related to COVID-19 or the Governor’s proclamation issued
March 5, 2020, as specified;
 states that the landlord made an affirmative, good-faith effort to resolve the
landlord’s claim through the application for rental assistance or negotiation of a
payment plan or other agreement and has concluded these efforts;
 states the affirmative, good-faith effort that the landlord took, and the dates these
efforts were initiated and completed; and
 states that all efforts made failed to satisfy the landlord’s claim for unpaid rent.
A tenant may challenge the contents of the statement provided by the landlord. and the
court may dismiss the landlord’s complaint on a showing of sufficient cause for failure to
comply. A judgment of possession issued against a tenant during the pendency of the
March 5, 2020 proclamation may not be applied to the number of judgments necessary to
foreclose a tenant’s right to redemption under specified provisions.
Prohibition on Rent or Fee Increases: Landlords are prohibited from increasing a tenant’s
rent or charging a tenant specified fees, including late fees, during this period.
Permanent Threshold Amount Rent Requirements
Beginning May 1, 2022, a landlord may not file a complaint for failure to pay rent under a
residential lease if