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Montgomery County鈥檚 COVID-19 helps renters avoid eviction, but local experts say more preventative measures are needed to avoid a housing crisis.

Tuesday afternoon the County Council will vote on , which would cap landlords鈥� ability to raise rent during the pandemic. It would also stop the accrual of late fees on rent payments.

鈥淭he last thing you want to do is pile onto folks who are already trying to dig out,鈥� said Councilmember Will Jawando, who sponsored the bill.

If passed, the bill goes into immediate effect and will be enforced through August of 2022.

On Aug. 15, 2021, Governor Larry Hogan ended the COVID-19 state of emergency for Maryland, to extend it. The loss of the eviction moratorium created by the state of emergency could result in a housing crisis over the next few months, according to community advocate Jane Lyons.

Lyons is the Maryland Advocacy Manager for , a local nonprofit focused on promoting inclusive, accessible communities in the Washington metropolitan area.

Montgomery County spearheaded COVID-19 prevention efforts in many other areas, Lyons said, citing mask mandates, vaccine requirements and quarantine efforts. So when it comes to this crucial issue, she said it鈥檚 鈥渇rustrating to see that we can鈥檛 be a leader.鈥�

The county鈥檚 Rent Relief Program, run by the Department of Health and Human Services, provides up to $12,000 or 15 months of assistance to eligible households behind on rent due to pandemic-related income loss. The program received $31 million in emergency funds from the federal government.

Tenants can apply for assistance online. Once they fill out an application, their case is assigned to a caseworker who will then follow it through the six-step process.

Some residents have been 鈥渦nderstandably鈥� frustrated, Jawando said, because the process tends to take 鈥渁 while.鈥� Lyons shared his concern, saying residents tend to be 鈥渙verwhelmed or confused鈥� by the application.

DHHS has received 8,577 unique applications as of Sept. 26, they reported . Jawando reported that as of Sept. 23, payment had been issued in 50% of all submitted applications, and 30% were being processed by caseworkers.

Over 100 employees work in the program, according to Amanda Harris, who heads rent relief efforts as DHHS鈥檚 Chief of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness.

Harris said her team is allowed to use up to 10% of the treasury鈥檚 emergency rental assistance fund for administrative costs. She said they are 鈥渕aximizing鈥� that 10% to pay caseworkers鈥� salaries.

The Rent Relief Program prioritizes funding for cases where evictions are already scheduled. DHHS has a data-sharing agreement with the Sheriff鈥檚 Office, Harris explained. Her team is provided with a list of households scheduled for eviction each week. County employees then reach out to those households, and their cases become top priority.

The Sheriff’s Office notifies DHHS of between 13 to 15 scheduled evictions per week, Harris said. That figure has stayed consistent over the past six weeks.

Harris also suggested those numbers could be inflated by cases involving commercial properties and cases where the tenant has already either moved or paid their debt. Less than 8% of eviction notices result in a physical eviction, she said.

Looking forward, she expressed confidence in the county鈥檚 trajectory, stating, 鈥淭here is no tsunami of evictions coming.鈥�

For at-need residents with slightly more of a buffer keeping them from eviction, the Rent Relief Program can be challenging.

Local freelance writer Stewart Schulze rushed to submit his application when the program launched but has received no update on its status in the three and a half months since. Because he hasn鈥檛 received an eviction notice from his landlord, he鈥檚 been told his application is still on a waiting list.

鈥淭hey don鈥檛 know how to intervene. They only know how to respond to crisis,鈥� he said in an interview, referring to the program as 鈥渏ust plain triage.鈥�

Councilmember Jawando also called the program a 鈥渢riaging鈥� effort. He said DHHS鈥檚 relationship with the Sheriff鈥檚 Office allows for some level of proactivity but agreed that 鈥渨e need more.鈥�

Amanda Harris said she believes the program鈥檚 reactive efforts to combat homelessness need to be coupled with preventative measures, like addressing the county鈥檚 lack of affordable housing.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have enough money to help every single person,鈥� Harris said. 鈥淲e just don鈥檛. So we have to be able to prioritize those most likely to experience eviction and homelessness.鈥�

Schulze said he has studied homelessness. He explained that according to his research, stabilization is the best way to prevent a housing crisis. The way the Rent Relief Program operates, 鈥渋t鈥檚 like they want you to be homeless before they鈥檒l even do anything.鈥�

Councilmember Jawando echoed Schulze鈥檚 desire to see proactive eviction prevention. He expressed frustration at the lack of state and federal assistance, pointing out that when Governor Hogan 鈥渋nexplicably let the state of emergency expire,鈥� statewide safeguards disappeared.

Although Jawando said he believes passing Expedited Bill 30-21 today is an 鈥渦rgent鈥� necessity, more is still needed. He said he hopes to see a second wave of federal funds distributed as soon as possible.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at potentially allocating more into rent relief, but I do think there will be a need for more money at the federal level.鈥�