When a University of Maryland School of Medicine professor returned from a winter vacation in early January, he expected to unlock his townhome in Southwest Baltimore’s Pigtown neighborhood, but his key didn’t work… Moments later, standing outside his own home, the profesor watched strangers unload belongings in his garage…The professor said he was homeless – and sometimes sleeping in his college office – for 59 days.
This case highlights a growing legal gray area in Maryland. When someone presents a lease, even one a homeowner insists is fraudulent, police typically treat the situation as a civil landlord-tenant dispute rather than criminal trespass or fraud.
A bill that would make the creation or use of a fraudulent lease a felony passed the Maryland Senate last week by a 37-5 vote. However, when Spotlight on Maryland asked Del. J. Sandy Bartlett, Anne Arundel County, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, whether squatter legislation would pass the House this year, she said, “I can’t make that commitment because there are 140 other people who serve in this body, but I will make the commitment that we are working on, substantially reviewing it, and we are hoping to get something out of Judiciary, and then it’s up to the body.” Source: Spotlight on Maryland (Fox45 and WJLA) via kutv.com
