Mayor Brandon Scott signed a new act into law on Monday which aims to make the transition from renting to homeownership easier for Baltimore residents.
“The Councilmember Mary Pat Clarke Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act” would restore renters’ ability to engage directly with their landlords who may be looking to sell their rental properties and provide easier pathways for renters to move to homeownership. Scott signed the new law with Councilwoman Odette Ramos and former Council President Mary Pat Clarke, after whom the law is named, by his side.
Clarke’s continuing advocacy and legislation she’d led while in office inspired the bill. “As a Councilwoman representing Northeast Baltimore, she worked with St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center founders Vinnie Quayle and Frank Fisher on the original ‘Tenant Right of First Refusal’ legislation, which was the first legislation in the country designed to give tenants the opportunity to purchase the homes in which they live when the owner was ready to sell,” reads the press release announcing the new law. Later legislation, however, essentially made that original legislation obsolete.
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