Assessment of Maryland’s Need for Eviction Prevention Funds and the Estimated Fiscal Impact

Evictions in Maryland are nearing pre-pandemic highs, with more than 18,000 households evicted in the first ten months of 2023, compared to just over 19,000 in the first ten months of 2019.  Evictions have devastating consequences for both the individuals and families subjected to eviction and for the communities diminished by the loss of residents. Evictions disrupt and upend people’s lives, and can lead to job loss, interruptions in children’s schooling, extreme stress, deteriorating health and mental health, and homelessness. Eviction as a strategy for dealing with past-due rent is a costly one – for the family, for the landlord, and for the state of Maryland. Eviction prevention programs, which cover up to three months of past-due rent, are a cost-effective way to stabilize families, pay landlords, and reduce costs to the state.

To better understand the need for eviction prevention funding across the state, the Maryland Eviction Prevention Funds Alliance (MEPFA) worked with Stout Risius Ross, a consulting firm that specializes in economic analyses of complex social issues and is a leader in the field of eviction prevention research nationally. The resulting report, “Assessment for Maryland’s Need for Eviction Prevention Funds (EPF) and the Estimated Fiscal Impact of EPF,” examines two different scenarios that would prevent disruptive displacements. Funding for the report came from the Abell Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the United Way of Central Maryland.

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Source: The Abell Foundation