A Baltimore City Council committee is looking into repeated complaints of tenants being evicted illegally, without notice and even locked out of rental units.
In a hearing Tuesday, Councilman Kristerfer Burnett said his office heard from a constituent last June who had been evicted and was “desperately seeking housing resources.”
“The eviction was done illegally,” he said. “No notice was given to the tenant prior to the court date, or the scheduled eviction. And the sheriff’s office did not post a scheduled date to the tenant’s door. Nor were they present during the eviction.”
Burnett said the woman and her child are still not in stable housing and that her story is not unique. He said he’s heard similar complaints from tenants, landlords and housing advocates.
He also highlighted a specific complaint: tenants not being property notified when evictions were upcoming.
“The situation has become significantly more dire as we see an unprecedented number of evictions being filed, a spike in illegal evictions,” Burnett said. “And the majority of the time, tenants are given no notice.”
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
