No Notices
By. Malique Parker
For a few years now, Baltimore Renters United has been assisting tenants in organizing themselves to confront their landlords. They have been keeping records and reporting on the events that take place inside Maryland's district court, also known as rent court. Some tenants who BRU has been assisting with their organization suddenly found themselves facing failure to pay cases. Some tenants claimed that they had already paid, and they didn't know why they were being sent to court. Others never received a notice, while some tenants only owed $20. After canvassing and making phone calls to tenants, we managed to get at least six tenants to attend rent court. An attorney from Disabilities Rights Maryland represented them.
Let us draw attention to the data we have gathered from the rent court. Among the various data points we collect, we note whether the tenant was represented by an attorney and their race. Our findings reveal that a significant number of black tenants appear in rent court, comprising 89% of all tenants. Furthermore, a large percentage of black tenants do not have legal representation. Statistics show that if you are a black person with a case in the District Court of Maryland, you have a 67% chance of being unrepresented and only a 21% chance of having an attorney present. Despite the passing of the Right to Counsel bill three years ago, we have yet to witness its full effect. Our goal is for every tenant facing a failure to pay case to receive legal representation. This bill's purpose is to address the power imbalance in eviction courts and prevent people from losing their homes. A staggering 25% of evictions result in families becoming homeless. Research shows that attorneys successfully prevent the displacement of Baltimore tenants in 92% of eviction cases. At present, landlords have legal representation in 90% of cases, whereas tenants only have legal representation in 1% of cases. The right to counsel will ensure that tenants have legal representation and can retain their homes.