Renters’ rights seen as contentious housing policy issue in Maryland General Assembly

Steven Cohen
·1 min read
2

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (DC News Now) — Partisan lines are being drawn over housing legislation pending at Maryland’s State Capitol.

The proposal would require landlords, before selling their properties, to give renters the first “right of refusal” to purchase the property.

In Hagerstown, renter Jordan Rawlings likes the idea.

“Why would you not sell to the person already renting?” Rawlings said. “If the tenant wants to buy it, cool. Give it to them. That way they won’t have to move. They won’t have to up and change their lives.”

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But Hagerstown real estate agent Mary Llewellyn says the government should have no role deciding the market for home sales.

“To come in and dictate what we have to do with property we own? No,” Llewellyn said.

Real estate brokers see a loss of sales commissions from a narrower market. They say the proposed law would impair efforts to convert single-family dwellings to multi-family at a time of a housing shortage.

“[With the law] we’re shooting ourselves in the foot,” Llewellyn said. “We can’t put the property on the market to have a sales opportunity out there.”

However, supporters of the bill say displaced tenants may not be able to find suitable housing if forced to vacate, potentially adding to the homeless crisis.

Should the bill pass the General Assembly, it is expected that Gov. Wes Moore will sign it.

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