Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Maryland
I lost my job and have fallen behind on my rent. I contacted my rental office to notify them as well as reached out for rental assistance through several resources. I making partial payments towards my rent as my unemployment is not enough to cover all of it. Although I explained my situation to my rental office, every month the leasing manager continues to process paperwork to take me to renters court and serves me with eviction notices. What can I do?! I'm not in a position to pay my rent and now I'm charged late fees and court filing fees! Please advise, this is stressing me OUT!!!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Unfortunately for people who have lost their jobs or faced other unexpected hardship, landlords do not have to accept less than the negotiated rent and can usually evict a tenant who hasn't paid full rent.
Some options may be to find a roommate to cover part of the cost (assuming your lease allows this), apply for housing assistance (it sounds like you started that process) or negotiate to get out of the lease and move to more affordable housing.
To get more information on basic tenant rights, you may want to consult with a non-profit organization like Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. (BNI) who operates a free landlord/tenant hotline.
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