ANNAPOLIS, Md. — With the federal government's eviction moratorium expired and the state's coming up August 15, the Arundel Community Development Services (ACDS) on Tuesday announced how they plan on helping county residents avoid eviction while also assisting landlords with getting paid.
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ACDS has come up with a six step process to intervene and help with eviction cases.
- Step 1: Increased coordination and outreach to landlords to ensure they were fully aware of the program and how its works;
- Step 2: Provided funding to more than double the staff at Community Legal Services to ensure attorneys were available to provide in court same day assistance;
- Step 3: Added office space adjacent to the Courts for the increased staff at Community Legal Services so judges can easily refer tenants;
- Step 4: Added ACDS staff adjacent to the courts and adjacent to Community Legal Services to improve the coordination between clients in eviction court and the ACDS Eviction Prevention Program so applications can be prioritized and rents quickly paid;
- Step 5: Set up a system with the Sheriff’s Office so that ACDS staff can do a daily cross reference of their list for evictions with those who have applied for assistance in an effort to prioritize these cases so rents can be paid and evictions stopped;
- Step 6: Working closely with the District Court Chief Administrative Judge to ensure all judges are aware of our program and how it works and to see if we can get voluntary postponement allowing us to process the application.
Their process is accompanied by a strategy that includes:
- Financial Assistance for Renters Behind on their Rent
- Legal Representation for Renters in Failure to Pay Rent Cases
- Assistance for Housing Authority City of Annapolis (HACA) Residents
- Working with the Courts
For more information on how ACDS may be able to help you, click here.
