During the pandemic, evictions were put on hold, and Montgomery County used federal money for rent subsidies. But as people continue to recover from the effects of COVID-19, some tenants are being hit with their reality that their rent is overdue.
During 2023, 904 people were evicted. So far this year, 808 have been evicted, according to Robert Lehman, Montgomery County Chief Deputy in the sheriff’s office.
But thousands more are dealing with possible eviction orders from the courts. In 2023, 6,637 received court eviction notices. So far this year, 6,634 have received similar notices with three months left in 2024, according to Lehman.
“The trauma begins when you are threatened with eviction,” said Matt Losak, executive director of the Renters Alliance in Montgomery County. “Evictions are the end of the road.”
A lot can happen between the time an eviction is scheduled, and a person is ordered to leave. Some pay their whole bill. Some make good faith payments. Many more move out on their own, which is why fewer than a fourth of renters scheduled for eviction actually had their belongs removed from their apartment.
Eviction actually is a lengthy process that begins when a tenant receives a failure to pay rent notice from a landlord. This notice must be sent and posted before a landlord can begin court proceedings.
During 2023, 34,813 tenants received failure to pay rent notices. So far this year, 32,760 have, Lehman said, noting, “So we are easily going to eclipse what we did in 2023.”
When someone receives three of these notices, a landlord is permitted to request the courts order a tenant evicted.
The county sheriff’s office “schedules a lot of evictions,” and it takes eight to 12 weeks to even schedule an eviction,” Lehman said.
To date this year, 3,161 have been scheduled.
“It’s all work intensive for the sheriff’s office,” Lehman said, adding that his office works closely with organizations that protection children, the elderly and “the very vulnerable” to work matters out.
“But at the end, the courts make the decision,” Lehman said. “It’s all landlord driven.”
Lehman explained that it is more common for evictions to occur in large, high-rise apartments, mostly because so many people live there.
During the last term of the Maryland General Assembly, a bill that would have required a landlord have just cause before evicting a tenant did not pass. He is hopeful that it will be adopted in the upcoming term, thereby requiring that a landlord state the reason for eviction.
Too often, Losak said, people are evicted when a landlord retaliates or when only a small amount of money is due.
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