Baltimore becomes 7th city with tenant right to counsel

UPDATE: City begins funding right to counsel

The City of Baltimore has committed $2.4 million of CDBG-CV money from the CARES Act to help pay for the city's enacted right to counsel.

Background

The City of Baltimore has enacted a bill to provide all tenants right a right to counsel, and it is without regard to income level.  WYPR and Maryland Matters have more.  You can read the bill text and a fact sheet about the bill, and check out Baltimore Renters United's page on right to counsel.

Notably, a Baltimore Sun op-ed made the case for Maryland to provide all three necessary pieces to avoid an eviction crisis: a state moratorium (due to the flaws in the CDC one), rent relief, and a right to counsel. For this last point, it cites to a Stout study that found a $5.7 million investment in right to counsel in Baltimore would yield $35.6 million in benefits to the city and state.  And in December 2020, the editorial board of the Maryland Daily Record endorsed the right to counsel for Baltimore and urged the city to fund it.