Maryland’s New Rules About the Visibility of Eviction-Related Documents

Dating apps have never made anyone feel less lonely or more self-confident.  An algorithm chooses someone that its robotic level of interpersonal intelligence thinks would be a good match for you.  Both partners get their hopes up over the course of a text message, but when they meet in person, the only vibe that they get from each other is, “It’s obvious that what you were hoping for is not the person here in front of you,” so they both come away from the date feeling rejected, and the feeling only compounds with each algorithm-generated mismatch.  Landlord-tenant relationships are another scenario where both parties feel like they are getting a raw deal.  Tenants feel like landlords reject them unfairly, and landlords feel that they are stuck with vacant apartments because all the prospective tenants who apply to rent from them are duds.  A new law regarding the housing application process in Maryland may lead to fewer tenants getting summarily rejected, but it may not solve the problem of landlords and tenants matching with each other but feeling like they deserve better.  For help navigating the lease application screening process or disputes with tenants who have fallen behind on their rent payments, contact a Washington, D.C. real estate lawyer.

Records About Eviction Cases Will No Longer Be Public Unless the Tenant Gets Kicked Out

This year, Maryland enacted a law where records of eviction proceedings will not be visible to prospective landlords during pre-housing background checks unless the eviction case resulted in the tenant being evicted from the apartment.  In other words, if a previous landlord filed a lawsuit to evict the tenant, these records will not be visible to future landlords if, after the filing, the tenant paid the overdue rent or the court determined that the landlord did not have a legally valid reason for evicting the tenant.  Before the current law went into effect, landlords could reject tenants simply for the fact that things had gotten so bad with their former landlords that they went to court, even if the tenant ended up staying in the apartment for years after the court case.

Is This Good News or Bad News for Landlords?

Landlords might worry that this rule will prevent them from weeding out prospective tenants who are unlikely to pay rent or likely to get into disputes with their landlords.  The flipside of this, though, is that eviction cases are usually weighted in favor of the landlord.  Tenants who have fallen behind on their rent cannot afford lawyers, and they may not even have the time to contact legal aid societies to represent them.  In other words, troublesome tenants account for only a small fraction of the records sealed pursuant to the new law.  Besides, history of eviction proceedings is not the only criterion on which prospective landlords evaluate applicants.

Contact Tobin O’Connor Ewing About Pre-Housing Background Checks

A Washington, D.C. real estate attorney can help you comply with the laws about screening prospective tenants.  Contact Tobin, O’Connor, and Ewing in Washington, D.C. or call 202-362-5900.

Source:

wmdt.com/2024/09/effective-in-october-maryland-will-seal-eviction-records-from-the-public-changing-the-dynamic-between-landlord-and-tenant/