For Immediate Release: Wednesday, June 19, 2019
From the Office of Councilmember Will Jawando
Bill 18-19 would require landlords to pay relocation payment if
rental housing is condemned as unfit and give tenants right of
first refusal to re-occupy housing after repairs
ROCKVILLE, Md., June 18, 2019—At today’s Montgomery County Council meeting Councilmember Will Jawando (at large) introduced Bill 18-19, Landlord Tenant Relations – Relocation Expenses, which would require a landlord to make a tenant relocation payment if the tenant’s housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation. Bill 18-19 also would require a landlord to provide a tenant with a right of first refusal to re-occupy rental housing. The aim of this bill is to improve tenants’ health and safety and to provide financial assistance when a tenant is displaced because of unfit living conditions not caused by the tenant.
“This legislation above all addresses our residents’ need for safe, clean and affordable housing,” said Jawando. “It will help ensure that conditions like mold and rodent infestation, for which they are not responsible, do not become a destabilizing factor in their lives.
“This bill is not designed to create a financial burden or be punitive to landlords in any way. It is rather about recognizing the moral imperative to ensure our residents’ and their families’ health and wellbeing is not adversely affected by their housing.”
The right of first refusal means that, in the event housing is condemned as unfit for human habitation, tenants would be guaranteed the right to return to their homes, if they choose, once repairs are completed.
Watch Councilmember Jawando’s comments from today’s bill introduction: https://youtu.be/pV2jfKlraa4.
Read more about Bill 18-19 here: https://tinyurl.com/Bill1819Intro.
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Release ID: 19-215