FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 2026
For more information, please contact:
Albert Turner, turnera@publicjustice.org, 410-625-9409 ext. 250
Baltimore, MD – On August 25th, 2026, at 5:15 pm, the Baltimore City Council’s Housing and Economic Development Committee will hear testimony on Council Bill 25-0087, Eviction Chattels: Time Period to Reclaim, commonly known as the Tenant Possessions Recovery Act (TPRA). Sponsored by Committee Chair James Torrence, the TPRA will end Baltimore City’s unconstitutional practice of taking away all of a renting family’s possessions at eviction. If passed, renters will have a reasonable opportunity to reclaim their property after an eviction – the same as renters already have in 35 states, Washington, D.C., and numerous local jurisdictions.
Renters who have experienced evictions, community groups and advocates will testify at the hearing. “Evictions cause poverty and homelessness – especially when renting families lose all their possessions,” according to Albert Turner, attorney at the Public Justice Center. “If we are serious about ending homelessness, we have to stop the inhuman practice of giving the landlord all of the tenant’s possessions, including electronics, medications, financial records, and personal keepsakes, upon eviction.”
Baltimore’s current law could cost taxpayers millions of dollars in damages to tenants because it is unconstitutional. In Todman v. The Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, 104 F.4th 479 (4th Cir. 2024), the Fourth Circuit found that the City had violated the family’s constitutional right to due process by taking their possessions at eviction. A class action (Henriques v. Mayor, D.Md. 1:22-cv-02727-LKG) suit alleging millions of dollars in damages is currently pending against the City.
###
About the Public Justice Center
The Public Justice Center pursues systemic change to build a just society. As a nonprofit civil rights law firm, we work to achieve racial and economic justice for people who are struggling to provide for their basic needs. Our Human Right to Housing Project stands with tenants to protect and expand their rights to safe, habitable, affordable, and non-discriminatory housing and their rights to fair and equal treatment by Maryland’s landlord-tenant laws, courts, and agencies. To learn more, visit www.publicjustice.org.
