May 2025
This month our executive director Detrese Dowridge took to the streets with Right to the City for a day of action in Washginton DC to affirm our committment to housing justice for all and rally with community members to help ensure a future free of predatory rental practicies, illegal landlord actions, and oppressive housing options that seek to serve as a detriment to our community members. Check out images from this momentous occasion on our Facebook page and be sure to Like and Follow us for more!
Additionally, BRU’s lead organizer Heather Johnson stood with members of the Attorney General of Maryland’s Office to solidify the state’s commitment to uphold the rule of law for the sake of tenant rights and leveling the playing field against slum lords.
See the full press conference and speech over on Youtube.
March 2025
As reported by Baltimore Brew, the Baltimore Office of Housing and Urband Development will be closed thanks to the efforts of the DOGE office headed by Elon Musk.
”Created by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the Great Depression under the authority of the National Housing Act of 1934, the FHA is one of the main government agencies that offers low down payment mortgages for qualifying homebuyers in the U.S.”
Aside from helping numerous families become homeowners and working to create affordable housing projects in Baltimore, this office employs 90 people and makes billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government.
February 2025
Attention Baltimore! BRU is ecstatic to announce the rollout of our brand update! We have some big plans for 2025 and thought it only fitting to match our new direction with a brand new look that better represents our mission, city and the communities we serve.
January 2025
Support SB154/HB103
During the month of January the state of Maryland is holding numerous hearings to determine various funding and programs to cut to help close a $3 billion gap in the state’s budget. A proposed bill, SB154/HB103, will support tenants access to counsel.
Why should Securing Maryland's Housing Stability be important to tenants.
The initial hearing for this bill will take place January 15th, 2025 at 10:30am.
Call to Action
Contact your delegates and ask them to support SB154/HB103 so that tenants can maintain access to counsel.
To learn more and to read the full text of this measure check out:
https://legiscan.com/MD/bill/SB154/2025
Statement from BRU director Detrese Dowridge about the proposed bill:
Quite often, tenants are at a disadvantage when it comes to advocating for themselves in rent court. With lack of counsel, vulnerable tenants are often exploited. Continued funding is essential to ensuring fairer outcomes for tenants and improving access to justice in these proceedings.
With lack of counsel, tenants will most likely be coerced into entering agreements with the landlord's attorney/agent that are of no benefit to them, as described in this article The Lucrative Business of Rent Court that came from Baltimore Renters United court observations which details how often tenants who do not have counsel are misled. Please continue to fund ACE so that tenants can continue to have access to counsel. Landlords have access to attorneys and non-attorneys known as agents to represent them, so with that in mind, shouldn't tenants also have that same courtesy?