Community Corner

Renting in Montgomery County? Nonprofit Says You've Got Rights

Renters Alliance wants protection from no-cause evictions, landlord intimidation and crazy rent increases.

A growing number of people are choosing to rent rather than buy homes in Montgomery County.

Matt Losak, executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, says more than 25 percent of the county rents—with about 70 percent of those renters living in greater Silver Spring and Wheaton. 

There are many reasons why. Some renters don’t want to be burdened with high taxes or home maintenance while seniors and immigrants are more often choosing rentals, according to Losak.

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Regardless of what motivates a person to rent, he or she wants the same security and protections as homeowners, he said. 

That’s where the Alliance comes in.

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After a Tenants Work Group suggested the county form a group to advocate for renters’ rights, Losak’s organization began to form “a presence and a voice for renters that didn’t exist before,” he said.

The bigger issues that the Alliance are calling for include protection from “unreasonable” rent increases and no-cause eviction, which is when a person’s lease isn’t renewed or he or she is asked to leave even if the rent is paid on time, Losak said.

“With as little as 60 days notice, a landlord can tell a renter he’s not going to renew a lease for no reason at all,” he said. “From my experience talking with hundreds of renters across the county, they are living in fear of losing their home.” 

An intimidation factor is at play for some renters and landlords, Losak said, like the woman who told him she was forced to go from a 12-month lease to a month-to-month lease after complaining that a fire door wasn’t opening easily enough. A month-to-month lease is less desirable because the rent could increase each month or the lease could be canceled on any given month.

Many renters today are residents who could have afforded mortgages in the past.

“The historical and national idea of a renter has changed…housing has become mathematically out of reach for people’s finances,” said Losak, citing homes listing for half a million dollars in Silver Spring.

“You have to be fairly well-to-do to buy a modest house in Silver Spring,” Losak said. 

Where does that leave renters? Wanting a sense of permanence and community just like homeowners, according to Losak. 

“It used to be renters were not considered permanent or full-class citizens,” he said. “Nowadays renters are demanding it.”

The group is holding its first meeting next month in downtown Silver Spring. (Click for more details.) 


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