Baltimore Sun turns focus to rise of civil right to counsel housing legislation

The rise of housing right to counsel legislation in cities across the country caught the attention of the Baltimore Sun, which looked at the expansions in Washington, D.C., New York, and Boston, and then put them into context for Baltimore and Maryland. The article noted that cities "are embracing [the right to counsel] to help restore balance to housing courts they say favor landlords over tenants, leading to avoidable evictions that are straining their cities." The article also quoted NCCRC Coordinator John Pollock, who pointed out that "New York City has inspired other cities,” and flagged the NCCRC’s website as the main repository for tracking such legislation.

Two days later, the Sun’s followup article described the plans of a state legislator and Baltimore City councilmember to investigate expanding housing representation at the state and city level.  The article explained that the Sun's original piece reignited the lawmakers’ desire to "generate momentum for an issue that has stalled in Maryland while gaining traction across the nation."