PBRC in the News: Some Marylanders can lose their homes to water bill debt. The Moore administration wants to change that.
Allison Harris, Director of PBRC's Home Preservation Project, spoke to The Baltimore Sun about the importance of exempting all residencies from tax sale due to unpaid water bills, and the underexamined issue of misclassified properties.
“When the State Department of Assessments and Taxation receives word that a homeowner has died, the home’s classification is changed. But after an heir who resides in the home obtains the deed, the home might still be listed in the SDAT catalog as not owner-occupied.
'People assume: ‘Oh, homeowners are protected,' Harris said. 'But because the database is filled with errors about what is or isn’t owner-occupied, homeowners aren’t protected.'"
Read more about House Bill 59 and the changes to the tax sale system PBRC is advocating for to better protect homeowners: https://www.baltimoresun.com/2025/01/06/moore-administration-tax-sale-reform-water-bills/.
