HOWARD COUNTY, Md. — Sara Hernandez has been living in her home in Elkridge for over 20 years.
She says lately she has been getting notices from her landlord that her rent is increasing each year, and she's not the only one.
“We’ve seen people who are struggling to pay a small increase such as 3%, 4%, 5% and we’ve seen tended to have seen an absurd amount upwards of 50%," says Alex Vazquez.
It has been a concern for many.
Back in October, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball introduced a package of legislation, one part of it, County Bill 44 was created to stop landlords from increasing rent in the county.
But in January the bill was tabled.
“I feel sad because it’s a lot of money every year there’s increases just this year alone it was $50 and that’s a lot of money," says Sara Hernandez.
Sara Hernandez is a single mother with two children, an 18- and a 5-year-old.
She says she has to use money from her savings account to pay for bills, she says her rent is so high she can’t keep up with the cost.
On top of that, she works at least 10 hours a day, 5 sometimes 6 days a week, cleaning apartments, office spaces, and a hall, to keep up with her rent.
“Yes, I was very hopeful. When I heard there was a bill being introduced. I know I got together something like two times with county council officials to see if they were willing to help stabilize the rent so it’s at least on par with inflation costs," she says.
But now that hope is gone, at least for another year.
Since the bill was tabled nothing can be done on the county level until a new bill is created and introduced in the next legislative session.
Alex Vazquez, Director of National Organizing for the non-profit CASA, says he hopes the next time a bill is introduced to stop the rent increase, that it at least gets completed and makes it to the final voting stages in the council.
"The ask is basically for the Howard County Government to come back to the table and prioritize rent stabilization as a necessity for tenants across the county," he says.
WMAR reached out to the county executive who sent a statement saying in part:
"Unfortunately, a majority of our colleagues on the council did not achieve consensus to advance that legislation at this time. I respect the council’s decision, and we will continue our efforts to implement other key elements of the home package."
County Executive Ball also said in that same statement should the council pass thoughtful legislation to prevent rental gouging, that his office will definitely evaluate the legislation.
