* Warning: This is an unofficial, introductory copy of the bill.
The official copy considered by the City Council is the first reader copy.
Introductory*
City of Baltimore
Council Bill R
(Resolution)
Introduced by: Councilmember Ramos
A Resolution Entitled
A Council Resolution concerning
title
Informational Hearing - Implementation of Landlord Licensing
For the purpose of requesting representatives from the Department of Law, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Department of Public Works appear before the Council and provide a comprehensive report about progress made on the implementation of Council Bill 18-0185 (“Non-Owner-Occupied Dwelling Units, Rooming Houses, and Vacant Structures - Rental Dwellings - Registration and Licensing”).
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Recitals
Council Bill 18-0185 (“Non-Owner-Occupied Dwelling Units, Rooming Houses, and Vacant Structures - Rental Dwellings - Registration and Licensing”) was passed in May of 2018, and enacted in August of that year. Implementation of the systems, inspections, and licensing were to be completed 90 days after enactment.
Baltimore City Department of Housing and Community Development (“DHCD”) has done a spectacular job setting up this important system to monitor the quality of rental housing. The program requires landlords to be inspected every 3 years to get their license.
Licensing is different from registration. All non-owner occupied properties have to be registered (Baltimore City Code, Article 13, § 4-5). That simply means DHCD knows that this is a non-owner occupied property. A licensed property means it has been inspected and is up to code so that residents can live on the premises. Inspections occur when the landlord pays an inspector from the approved list provided by DHCD to inspect the property, and proper paperwork is filed.
Residents have called 311 or notified their City Council member or a member of the DHCD team when they suspect a property has not been licensed, or they locate the property on CODEMAP or the City’s link to properties that are licensed. Additionally, neighbors have discovered unlicensed properties by first finding other violations. If that property is not licensed, DHCD issues fines of $1000 for each infraction and failure to abate the violation.
Unfortunately, even 2.5 years after implementation, there are hundreds if not thousands of properties that are being rented that are not properly licensed. While COVID certainly had a factor in this, COVID also provided the opportunity to require landlords to comply if they wanted their tenants to receive rental assistance. This has prevented these renters from receiving critical aid during the ongoing pandemic.
Nevertheless, there are significant cases where landlords are refusing to comply with the law. While we’ve seen some cases highlighted in news media, we know from research that there are several properties with multiple citations for non-compliance, and there is still no movement on compliance. The current law states that DHCD could remove the renters from a non-licensed property if the living conditions are so poor they should not be living in the property.
In addition, there is evidence that false paperwork is presented to DHCD so that landlords can cut corners on repairs and inspections. This deeply undermines the goals of the licensing and registration ordinance.
The Baltimore City Council wants to learn about the increase in licensed properties so that rental assistance could be received, the estimated number of properties that have yet to be licensed, properties that have clearly not complied with the law and therefore need strict consequences, resources needed to fully implement the law, and any suggested changes to the legislation.
Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of Baltimore, That the City Council requests representatives from the Department of Law, Department of Housing and Community Development, and Department of Public Works appear before the Council and provide a comprehensive report about progress made on the implementation of Council Bill 18-0185 (“Non-Owner-Occupied Dwelling Units, Rooming Houses, and Vacant Structures - Rental Dwellings - Registration and Licensing”).
And be it further resolved, That a copy of this Resolution be sent to the Mayor, the City Solicitor, Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Director of the Department of Public Works, and the Mayor’s Legislative Liaison to the City Council.