Addressing Tax Sale in Baltimore: A Cross-Discipline Collaborative Approach | Rm. 305

2024 Partners for Justice Conference

Addressing Tax Sale in Baltimore: A Cross-Discipline Collaborative Approach

Session 1: 9:45 AM to 11:00 AM  |  Room 305

Every year, Baltimore City sells delinquent property tax liens to the highest bidders, generally private investors. This leads to harmful consequences for the homeowners whose liens are sold. This has a devastating impact for Baltimore’s Black communities: 1) older homeowners with limited incomes lose their homes and can't pass their most vulnerable asset to their families and 2) properties in tax sale add to the city’s inventory of 15,000+ vacant properties and destroys the physical health of the neighborhood. The Baltimore Tax Sale Work Group, a coalition of housing and legal aid advocates, mutual aid groups, and government partners, work with Baltimore homeowners to navigate the property tax sale process. Join our session to learn more about the collaborative’s framework, which relies on information sharing, partnerships, and referrals between city agency staff, legal aid groups, and mutual aid groups, and how we work in cross-disciplinary concert to effect change in our city. We will also discuss policy recommendations for minimizing displacement of legacy Black homeowners and enacting racially equitable reforms of the tax sale system.

Panelists:

  1. Allison Harris, Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland
  2. Claudia Wilson Randall, Community Development Network of Maryland
  3. John Kern, Stop Oppressive Seizures (SOS) Fund

Moderator: