Renters United Maryland Announces 2026 Legislative Agenda to Ensure all Marylanders Have Stable, Affordable Housing
Annapolis, MD – On the first day of the legislative session, Renters United Maryland (RUM) is calling on the Maryland General Assembly to pass the Stable Homes, Strong Communities legislative agenda. As rent prices skyrocket and more renting families are facing eviction and dangerous, unfair housing practices, it is more vital than ever for our state legislators to act to ensure renters in Maryland have stable housing, so we can all have strong communities.
To ensure that every Marylander has access to a safe, stable home, the 2026 Maryland General Assembly must:
- Pass Good Cause Eviction Enabling Legislation
- Fund Eviction Prevention
- Pass legislation ensuring fair background checks for housing
- Oppose “Evict First, Ask Questions Later” Bills
“Session after session, affordable housing is discussed as if homeownership is the only solution,” said Tonia Chestnut, President of the Enclave Tenant Association. “But renters are the backbone of our communities, and we are tired of being treated as an afterthought. At The Enclave, we see firsthand how a lack of protections allows housing conditions to deteriorate while rents continue to rise. If lawmakers are serious about addressing the housing crisis, they must move beyond talk and pass real, enforceable protections for Maryland renters.”
Every year, landlords file eviction cases against almost 5,000 Maryland families without providing a reason. Good Cause Eviction enabling legislation would allow local jurisdictions in Maryland to pass laws to prevent people from being evicted without their landlord providing a valid reason. This bill passed the House of Delegates in 2024, but did not receive a vote in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee in 2024 or 2025, as some lawmakers wanted to force county residents to choose between having two vital housing stability protections: Strong rent stabilization or good cause eviction, but not both. This is a false choice. Maryland families deserve both stable rents AND protections against discriminatory, unfair evictions by corporate landlords. RUM urges the Maryland General Assembly to pass a clean Good Cause Eviction bill this session.
“There are many tenants in my complex and across Maryland who are afraid to report a leaking pipe or a lack of heat because they know a landlord can simply refuse to renew their lease without saying a word,” said Tonia Chestnut, President of the Enclave Tenant Association. “A ‘clean’ Good Cause bill isn't a luxury -- it is the shield our Maryland renters and their families need in order to demand the basic living conditions they deserve and pay for. We refuse to accept a ‘false choice’ that leaves us vulnerable to retaliation just for wanting a safe, stable place to live.”
The Community Schools Rental Assistance Program (CSRAP) provides eviction prevention financial support to families with a student attending a Community School. The program was created by legislation sponsored by Senator Hettleman and Delegate Stewart and signed into law by Governor Moore in 2024. Governor Moore allocated $10 million for the program and released the funds at the end of last year. However, within just a few weeks after the program launch, there were $30 million in requests. RUM is calling on Gov. Moore and the Maryland General Assembly to fund CSRAP at $25 million to help prevent 9,375 families from facing eviction.
“Working at a school of nearly 1,100 students, I see the youth who constantly complain about all aspects of their school day yet are reluctant to go home after dismissal,” according to David Castro, Community Schools Director for Lakeland Elementary School in Baltimore City. “With a pending eviction, they may end up transferring schools frequently or not know where they are going to sleep later. We cannot expect our youth to prioritize learning when their basic needs outside of the school day are not being met. We need a major investment in the Community Schools Rental Assistance Program to keep children in stable homes and ready to learn.”
One of the biggest barriers renters face in accessing housing is the unfair rejection of their applications due to credit scores, rental history, or criminal history. By placing reasonable guardrails on what information a landlord can use when verifying an applicant, and ensuring that information is correct, more Marylanders will be able to find stable housing. RUM urges the Maryland General Assembly to pass three bills to significantly improve the fairness in the renter screening process: the Fair Chance in Housing Act, the Ending Credit Barriers for Assisted Families Act, and the Tenant Screening Transparency Act.
“It is essential for people who have been involved with the justice system to have access to housing. Lifelong discrimination because of a conviction history makes it hard for a person to secure steady employment, or have a fair chance to rebuild their life. All of that is even harder if a person doesn’t have a place to live,” said John Bae, Director of the Opening Doors to Housing initiative at the Vera Institute of Justice. “It is important to pass the Maryland Fair Chance Housing Act to ensure everyone has access to housing.”
Adria Crutchfield, Executive Director of the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership, commented on the importance of the Ending Credit Barriers for Assisted Families Act: “Despite the enactment of the HOME Act, too many Maryland families receiving rental assistance still face significant barriers to accessing quality homes in communities of their choosing. For families with rental subsidies, which increase and decrease based on their ability to pay, tenant screening practices like minimum credit score requirements serve no purpose except to exclude low-income families from opportunity. Prohibiting these unnecessary barriers would give assisted families a fair shot at true housing choice and long-term stability.”
Finally, fueled by a false narrative – manufactured by Sinclair-aligned media and agenda-driven think tanks – about an unfounded “squatting crisis” in Maryland, RUM anticipates that “anti-squatter” legislation will be introduced in the 2026 legislative session. These bills will create an “evict first, ask question later” environment in our state that will harm lawful tenants. In the 2025 legislative session, the General Assembly passed SB46 to address this issue, expediting these kinds of eviction cases. The bill required a case to be heard within 10 days, making it one of the shortest court processes in our state. RUM is calling on the General Assembly to reject further “evict first” policies this session.
“My husband, my three children, and I moved into our home almost a year ago, paying our rent on time to the landlord,” said Tierra Starks, a renter in Baltimore City. “However, in November, the property’s rental license was revoked because it was revealed the property was never properly inspected. Now unable to collect rent from us, the landlord is alleging that we are squatters and that we moved into the home illegally. It is important that Maryland protects my family’s constitutional due process rights so bad landlords cannot bypass the Court system.”
By supporting the 2026 Stable Homes, Strong Communities Housing Justice Agenda, our legislators can help ensure that Marylanders get and stay housed.
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Renters United Maryland is a coalition of independent non-profit, legal services, tenant organizers, and community-based organizations including Advance Maryland, Baltimore Healthy Start, Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership, Baltimore Renters United, Beyond the Boundaries, CASA, CASH Campaign, Community Development Network, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Community Legal Services, Disability Rights Maryland, Economic Action, Everyday Canvassing, Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake, Health Care for the Homeless, Housing Our Neighbors, Jews United for Justice, Latino Economic Dev. Center, Long Branch Housing Action Team, Maryland Catholic Conference, Maryland Center on Economic Policy, Montgomery County Renters Alliance, NAACP of Maryland, National Coalition for the Homeless, Our Revolution MD, Pro Bono Resource Center, Public Justice Center, Progressive Maryland’s Enclave Tenant Association, Progressive Maryland, 1199 SEIU, Shore Legal Access, Santoni, Vocci, & Ortega, LLC, and Youth Action Board