Advocates rally for rent relief and housing assistance outside the Maine State House in Augusta on March 13, 2024. (Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star)
Reposted from Maine Morning Star
The bill that advocates had hoped could provide rent relief to thousands of Mainers passed the Legislature this week. But rather than providing direct assistance, the amended bill will study tenant-landlord relationships and how to maximize the state’s housing voucher system.
After passing the House on Wednesday, LD 1710 — sponsored by Rep. Cheryl Golek (D-Harpswell) — passed the Senate the following day. There was no discussion nor roll calls in either chamber.
The 14-person commission created by LD 1710 will look into housing discrimination based on the use of income-based rental assistance as well as incentives for landlords to rent to tenants who rely on vouchers or other forms of income-based assistance. The group may also establish a mediation process between tenants and landlords.
The commission will be required to submit a report on its findings in November.
Searching for a vehicle for rent relief
Throughout the past few months, advocates and activists have called for the state to fund rent relief by testifying at a public hearing for the supplemental budget and holding multiple rallies at the State House. LD 1710 was supposed to be the vehicle to provide what they say is much needed assistance to households across Maine. However, since it was first introduced last session, the bill has been scaled back multiple times to its current form as a study.
An earlier version of the bill that would have established a $16 million annual rental assistance and guarantee program was thought to be the only bill this session that would provide sustained rental assistance for the lowest income Mainers. That program could have helped an estimated 2,000 households making 30% of the area median income.
In a press release on Thursday, Golek said the bill marks “a significant success in the battle against Maine’s housing crisis, as it would direct stakeholders and professionals with lived experiences to put their heads together and search for ways to eliminate income-based rental discrimination.”
Since the bill evolved into a study, housing policy groups have turned their attention to a different bill (LD 1540), which seeks to create a two-year, $300 a month rental assistance pilot program and has been on the special appropriations table since last spring.
Last year, the number of households facing evictions surpassed pre-pandemic levels with more than 5,700, according to state court records. During the pandemic, there were 4,000 or fewer evictions each year after Gov. Janet Mills limited evictions and established a rental assistance program that provided one-time payments of $500 to people who met certain income thresholds.
This story was updated to include a quote from Golek.
AnnMarie Hilton grew up in a suburb of Chicago and studied journalism at Northwestern University. Before coming to Maine, she covered education for newspapers in Wisconsin and Indiana.
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