Lengthy House debate over good-cause eviction bill fails to adopt several landlord-friendly amendments

Madam Speaker convened a lengthy floor debate on House Bill 774, a measure to authorize local jurisdictions to adopt "good cause" reasons for terminating residential leases, and to define multiple grounds for nonrenewal. The bill was read as a special order and the maker from the Eastern Shore opened with an explanation of an amendment that would have clarified rent obligations during prolonged holding-over disputes.

The floor leader repeatedly urged the body to resist several amendments as redundant or conflicting with existing landlord-tenant law and emphasized that HB 774 is enabling legislation that counties must choose to adopt. The maker from the Eastern Shore argued several landlord-facing amendments were needed to protect small owners from prolonged court timelines and lost rental income.

Key amendments and outcomes: an amendment (703728/1) clarifying that tenants remain obligated to pay rent during holdover litigation failed after a roll call and a recorded negative tally was announced; an amendment from Carroll County adding employment-based housing termination (913524-1) was accepted as friendly and adopted; an amendment exempting short-term rentals (913120/1) was accepted as friendly and adopted; changes to the habitual late-payment trigger (283420-1) — reducing four 10-day late occurrences to three — failed on a roll call (recorded negative votes reported); a proposal to extend access to the state's Access to Counsel and Evictions (ACE) fund to certain landlords (233222/1) failed; an amendment requiring tenants to pay landlords' reasonable attorneys' fees if a court finds good cause (113420/1) failed; several other landlord-protective amendments (including treating a landlord's legal filing as automatic good cause (243228-1), defining "substantial damage" as damage above the security deposit (203423/1), limiting disclosure of LLC ownership (153525/1), raising the small-landlord exemption from six to 15 units (733221-1), and exempting active-duty service members (603727-1)) were debated and ultimately failed. Where amendments were adopted, the floor published the changes on the record.

Throughout debate, floor participants pressed on procedural and practical impacts: the floor leader and sponsors emphasized the enabling nature of the bill (counties must opt in) and that many eviction-procedure timelines and remedies remain governed by existing law; proponents of amendments stressed delays in the court process (two-to-four months typical) and the financial strain on small landlords. The minority leader and other members argued for retaining tenants' access to counsel and for caution before expanding fee-shifting or other remedies that could disadvantage low-income tenants.

After the amendment sequence concluded and multiple roll-call tallies were recorded, the Speaker ordered HB 774 printed for third reading. The bill will next appear on the calendar for final passage consideration unless further local or procedural steps intervene.