Tenant fears eviction months after applying for relief funds
A Baltimore County tenant who owes thousands in back rent said her landlord has been great in helping her get assistance
By Barry Simms
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MIDDLE RIVER, Maryland (WBAL) — A Baltimore County tenant who owes thousands in back rent said her landlord has been great in helping her get assistance, but she remains fearful she could get evicted — and both want answers.
Kristina Smith and her landlord, Bob Posterli, are working together to try to prevent eviction. They said they applied for rental assistance funding through Baltimore County, but months later, they are worried because they still don’t know whether they’ll receive the funds.
“It’s stressful just knowing we’re waiting for help and it hasn’t come yet,” Smith said.
Smith lost her job in February because of COVID-19-related issues. In April, she and Posterli applied for emergency rental assistance under Baltimore County’s emergency eviction relief program. Four months later, she’s still waiting.
“Oh my goodness, I’ve told them about the whole situation. We’re behind in rent. We need help with rent,” Smith said.
“If I evict her, all that’s going to do is add to homelessness for her and her family,” Posterli said.
Posterli said Smith and her children are good tenants and have lived at the property for more than three years. Both are frustrated. After numerous calls and checking online, all they get is, “Your case has been submitted and will be reviewed by a case auditor,” and, “Caseworker unassigned.”
Posterli said his tenant owes about $5,800 in back rent.
“She’s made magnificent attempts to pay, but unfortunately, not the full amount,” Posterli said.
“I go grocery shopping for other people and get paid that way just to make a little extra income right now,” Smith said.
Baltimore County’s emergency rental assistance program told the 11 News I-Team in an email that almost 5,200 people have applied since January, and the county assisted more than 1,700 people so far.
Joy Roberts, director of housing stability for the Baltimore County Department of Housing and Community Development, said: “A high volume of cases are referred to nonprofit providers. The average application processing time is about a week. Still, it can take some time to process each individual application.”
In June, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski announced an additional $17 million in rental assistance funding. But according to the county’s website, the county is not accepting new applications as of July 8. Existing intake forms are still being processed.
“We thought this was going to be a lifesaver for everybody,” Posterli said.
Smith and Posterli still hope to preserve their relationship and prevent eviction with help from relief funds.
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