Blog

  • MD Gov. Moore signs multiple housing bills into law.

    By dcalhoun | May 6, 2024

    Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act and other housing legislation into law during a bill signing ceremony at the State House in Annapolis on Thursday. Del. Chris Adams, R-Wicomico/Caroline/Dorchester/Talbot, a landlord, was not there, and thus did not participate in the smiling and celebratory atmosphere. Neither were, so far as…

  • Montgomery Sheriff accused of excessive eviction force

    By Danielle Calhoun | April 19, 2024

    Tenant in November 2023 eviction attempt says drawn guns were unnecessary. Judgement had been paid. GAITHERSBURG, Md. — Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies are being accused of using excessive force to perform an eviction at gunpoint that turned out to be on shaky legal ground, according to the recording of the incident. The accusations are being made…

  • NY Homeowner arrested after changing locks on squatters

    By Danielle Calhoun | March 22, 2024

    by JACKSON WALKER | The National DeskWed, March 20th 2024 at 11:14 AM NEW YORK CITY (TND) — A homeowner in New York City was taken away in handcuffs after she tried to change the locks on her home to keep out a group of alleged squatters, ABC 7 reported. Adele Andaloro told the outlet she is the…

  • Maryland Business Regulation Section 7-101

    By Danielle Calhoun | February 27, 2024

    Article – Business Regulation § 7-101.       (a)      In this title the following words have the meanings indicated.       (b)      “Board” means the State Collection Agency Licensing Board.       (c)      “Collection agency” means a person who:             (1)      engages directly or indirectly in the business of collecting for, or soliciting from another, a consumer…

  •  Donegal Assocs., LLC v. Christie-Scott, LLC

    By Danielle Calhoun | February 27, 2024

    The Appellate Court of Maryland (under the then-named Maryland Court of Special Appeals) further defined the permitted-but-not-encouraged actions of self-help repossession in Donegal Assocs., LLC v. Christie-Scott, LLC, 248 Md. App. 448 (2020) by setting out a three-step inquiry approach: (1) Is the tenant in default under the terms of the lease; (2) Do the terms…

  • Self-Help. Ok or Not? Commercial Property

    By Danielle Calhoun | February 27, 2024

    Self-Help. Ok or Not? Commercial Property“Self-help,” in a leasing context, typically refers to the landlord’s historical remedy of locking out a defaulting tenant and obtaining possession of the premises without going through judicial procedures. Traditionally under the common law, a landlord was subject to few limitations in choosing its remedies against a defaulting tenant, including…

  • Maryland Court upholds Landlord Self-Help Remedy

    By Danielle Calhoun | February 27, 2024

    Maryland Court of Appeals Re-Affirms the Landlord Self-Help RemedyWhat is “self-help”? Self-help is the act of peacefully enforcing one’s rights without resorting to the court process.  Self-help is legal in Maryland as long as it is reasonable, peaceful, and does not violate some other law.  The difficulty or complexity in implementing self-help is not to…

  • Montgomery County Council imposes 6% cap on rent hikes

    By Danielle Calhoun | August 1, 2023

    Story found on DCist.com – by Morgan Baskin The Montgomery County Council voted 7-4 on Tuesday to implement a sweeping rent stabilization law governing how much most property owners can charge the roughly 35% of county residents who rent their homes – making it among the largest jurisdictions in the country to pass such a…

  • Sheriff Cogen stopped posting eviction notices.

    By Danielle Calhoun | July 26, 2023

    Story by: Emily Sullivan Published 12/4/2022 11:36 a.m. EST, Updated 12/4/2022 12:07 p.m. EST Baltimore’s new sheriff Sam Cogen has instructed deputies to end the department’s longtime policy of posting eviction notices in common spaces of apartment buildings when deputies are unable to access individual units. Cogen announced the new policy on Thursday, his first…

  • Baltimore couple awarded $186k for eviction issues

    By Danielle Calhoun | February 15, 2023

    Madeleine O’Neill February 2, 2023The Daily Record A federal jury awarded $186,000 to a Baltimore couple who lost their belongings under a city ordinance that gives landlords the immediate right to take possession of items left behind when an eviction takes place.The couple, Marshall and Tiffany Todman, won a total of $36,000 in damages for lost…