Maryland landlords have a relatively straightforward way of cutting ties with the tenants they don’t like or want: sending a notice of nonrenewal at the end of a lease term.

Unlike evictions, which entail court hearings, nonrenewal notices are difficult to challenge, even if tenants suspect they’re being illegally retaliated against. With no sufficient cover from the whims of a landlord they may never have met, many renters say they live in fear of being forced out of their homes.

For more than a decade, fair housing advocates around the state have sought to bolster tenants’ defenses in these cases by requiring nonrenewal notices to include a “just cause” or “good cause” reason. This, they say, will strengthen existing anti-retaliation laws and provide more housing stability in an increasingly inaccessible real estate market.

Advocates have reason to believe this year’s good cause bill can make it over the finish line in Annapolis, where Maryland’s 90-day legislative session is underway. They’ve worked with academic researchers to analyze the effects of similar laws in other states, clinched the support of Gov. Wes Moore’s administration, and secured a compelling cosponsor in the state senate, where previous versions of the proposal have flatlined.

But they still must break through a firewall of housing providers, lobbyists and lawmakers who argue the bill may hurt, not help, Marylanders in an increasingly tight housing market.

“This is not radical; it’s common sense,” said state Sen. C. Anthony Muse, a Democrat from Prince George’s County and the bill’s cosponsor, last week in Annapolis. “We often hear about the more urgent need for more affordable housing. But we don’t hear as much about keeping people in their homes.”

Opponents say the bill violates the basic premise of a lease — a mutually reached, finite agreement with a clear start and end date. They have voiced concerns about the potential chilling effect more tenant-friendly policies might have on the housing economy and the possibility of rent costs rising in response.

“Sometimes we have unintended consequences,” said state Sen. Mary-Dulany James, a Harford County Democrat, during a committee hearing last week for a related housing bill, who said she felt property owners would soon reach their breaking point in Maryland. “We just keep creating barriers for the landlords — almost as if all landlords are bad, all tenants are good and all landlords’ activities are suspect.”

State Del. Jheanelle Wilkins, a Montgomery County Democrat whose involvement with the legislation dates back to 2018, said the latest version of the state bill offers a compromise that should make the skeptics more comfortable.

This year’s iteration, for example, only applies to housing providers with six or more housing units — designed to narrow the focus to corporate landlords rather than the small mom-and-pop shops — and includes 10 examples of what qualifies as a good cause reason, including “habitual” failures to pay the rent or a “substantial” breach of the lease. As in past years, the legislation is optional for local governments to adopt.

Wilkins, at an Annapolis rally last week, said the premise boils down to this: A tenant who pays rent and follows the rules should have a choice to stay put.

The academic literature on good cause laws has been mixed. Researchers at Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business participated in an academic analysis of the impact of existing good cause laws on development and found no evidence that the policy hampers new housing from getting built. A New York University Furman Center report, meanwhile, warns that while it’s “crucial” to keep more people housed, it’s possible good cause may inflate costs, resulting in diminished maintenance, expensive litigation and additional rigor for low-income applicants to find affordable homes.

Bill Castelli, an attorney at Rifkin Weiner Livingston LLC who represents Maryland REALTORS, testified in Annapolis last week that the legislation could result in less flexibility for property owners, possibly resulting in more homes being taken off the market.

“We are in the business of providing housing, not the business of eviction,” he said in a Friday interview. “Most relationships work and work well.”

But tenants who have received nonrenewal notices for unspecified causes said they feel the bill could level an unequal playing field. Without it, they said, they will remain outmatched.

Erica Lunn, who rents a unit at the Hills of Kenilworth in Towson, said she thinks complaints to code enforcers about her home quality pushed her tenancy over the edge. Management, headquartered in New Jersey, did not respond to a request for comment.

Lunn, who lives with her 14-year-old son, said she has until the end of March to move out. She’ll likely stay with a sister in Parkville and start saving to buy a house to circumvent future tussles with property managers.

“Not that I want to stay even longer,” Lunn said. “I think it was discriminatory on so many levels.”

Lunn had hoped not to disrupt her son’s school year, but has no choice.

Rebecca Clausen, a mom to three teenage daughters, said her complaints to state and county government agencies, and her withholding of rent to attempt to force repairs at her Gambrills rental home, also likely played into her lease nonrenewal.

She tried to fight it, but the owner, SMD Capital Group, successfully filed to evict Clausen after the lease expired. Her blemished record has led to trouble finding new housing.

Clausen, an Army veteran, paid about $2,500 a month for the house, which is over 100 years old, property records show. She said it suffers from a host of problems, including insulation and structural issues, water intrusion, pests and leaky pipes. She has uncovered “visible” mold and said she has established a risk of lead paint exposure. SMD Capital Group did not respond to a request for comment.

On the verge of eviction, Clausen has resigned herself to the possibility of sleeping in her van with her dogs.

“The very laws and freedoms I defended have failed my family,” she told state lawmakers at a hearing last week.

Mary Theresa Weil may soon join Clausen at the end of her rope. At 77, the spirited cheetah-print lover may soon be forced to leave the Christ Church Harbor Apartments at the Inner Harbor, where she’s lived for about eight years.

She spends $700 a month on her one-bedroom apartment, which includes a balcony overlooking the offices of T. Rowe Price, her employer of 40 years. Last summer, a fire erupted on her balcony — likely due to a faulty lithium battery pack, fire investigators said — resulting in about $30,000 worth of damages. The Baltimore City Fire Department ruled it accidental, but — citing the incident — the apartment managers chose not to renew her lease.

She has yet to find other housing, and Christ Church Harbor Apartments gave her more time to move out. When management learned she spoke to The Banner about her experience, though, they called her allegations “false” and told her attorneys they no longer had interest in working with her, according to an email reviewed by The Banner, and said they likely would file for eviction.

Christ Church Harbor Apartments has not responded to requests for comment, and its attorney didn’t specify what was false about Weil’s allegations. Desperate to keep her home, Weil still hopes she can make amends.

“I don’t want to leave,” she said. When she received the nonrenewal notice, she put it this way: “My world had come to an end.”