Senate enacts Sen. Carney bill to help prevent avoidable evictions
New partnership from Pine Tree Legal, MaineHousing to help ensure tenants have legal aid
AUGUSTA — On Wednesday, the Maine Senate voted to enact a bill from Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, to help make sure tenants facing eviction know their rights and have legal help. An amended version of LD 1508, “An Act To Reduce Homelessness by Reducing Evictions,” received unanimous, bipartisan support.
The bill would create a program to help ensure renters have access to legal assistance and know what legal protections they have under Maine law. The Maine Senate passed an amended version of the bill in an initial vote on Monday, in a vote of 21-14.
“Housing is so often the basis of a person or family’s overall health and wellbeing. The eviction process can be incredibly traumatic for tenants, as they lose not just a place to live, but often their food, their clothes, their furniture and even their children’s toys. LD 1508 will help make sure tenants know their legal rights, and that they have the same level of legal representation as their landlords when they’re facing eviction,” said Sen. Carney. “With the federal eviction moratorium ending soon, I’m so grateful for the support this bill has received and for the work it has inspired around the state already.”
In response to LD 1508 and a recent report on eviction from the Maine Coalition for Affordable Housing, MaineHousing, which has run rental assistance programs throughout the pandemic, is partnering with Pine Tree Legal Assistance to ensure that every tenant who needs help remaining stably housed has access to legal assistance, understands their rights and the eviction process, and if eligible, receives rental assistance. The two organizations also plan to continue to work with cultural brokers to ensure that Maine’s communities of color – who are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 and face eviction at a higher rate – have access to resources and assistance in their language of choice. MaineHousing will use federal Emergency Rental Assistance funds to help support this work.
“Affordable housing is not just an issue in Southern Maine or Northern Maine. This is an issue in every kind of community in our state, and it affects the dignity of both older Mainers and stability of young working families. As our state seeks solutions for the affordable housing crisis, this partnership between Maine Housing and Pine Tree Legal is a great step forward,” said Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford, who is the primary cosponsor of LD 1508.
“Even before the pandemic, low-income people and people of color faced myriad unfair disadvantages that harmed their economic security, their safety and their overall wellbeing. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened that divide. While there is still much work that needs to be done, especially with the end to the eviction moratorium looming, LD 1508 and this partnership moves us in the right direction,” said Sen. Craig Hickman, D-Winthrop, Senate Chair of the Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee. “Pine Tree Legal and MaineHousing already have programs that do incredible work to help disadvantaged Mainers; this new cooperation just makes sense.”
“As the eviction moratorium ends, we know that many Mainers may face eviction – and we need to do what we can to help,” said Daniel Brennan, Director of MaineHousing. “Over the last year, many people are in unforeseen circumstances beyond their control, and in response we’ve stood up rental assistance and housing stability programs. Now we are providing funding to Pine Tree Legal Assistance to make sure that all tenants have the resources and education they need to remain stably housed.”
“Data collected by the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition shows that tenants are less likely to have legal representation than landlords, and that lack of legal representation has a negative impact on their ability to avoid eviction and homelessness,” said Nan Heald, Executive Director of Pine Tree Legal. “By increasing legal representation for tenants, we will level the playing field and ensure that state and federal laws are upheld.”
Pine Tree Legal Assistance is a nonprofit law firm that helps Mainers meet their basic needs and enforce their human rights by providing free civil legal assistance. Pine Tree helps more than 6,000 Maine households each year. More than half of their cases are related to housing issues. Mainers anywhere in the state facing eviction can contact Pine Tree by phone. More information is available on their website: https://www.ptla.org/contact-us.
LD 1508 now goes to the desk of Gov. Janet Mills, who has 10 days to either sign it into law, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature.
