Last year, a bill to prevent residences across Maryland from going to tax sale solely for unpaid water bills went haywire because of amendments — if you ask housing advocates.

The version that passed the House of Delegates would have exempted only “owner-occupied” properties, which drew alarm from advocacy groups, because it would have been a step backward for Baltimore, where all residences were protected — whether they were owner-occupied or not.

This year, the legislation is back with its original provisions, supported by Gov. Wes Moore’s housing department and a collection of legal aid groups and nonprofits focused on housing and water affordability.“This legislation reflects our commitment to protecting Maryland’s most vulnerable homeowners,” said Jake Day, secretary of the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, in a news release. “No one should lose their home over unpaid water bills.”

The bill, HB 59, also makes other changes to the tax sale process, including lengthening the timeline for homeowners to redeem their property from tax sale. But the water bill aspect is what caused a dustup last year. The bill was not amended back to its original form, and the clock ran out at the tail end of the legislative session.

Allison Harris, Home Preservation Project director at the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, said there are two major reasons why shielding only “owner-occupied” homes from tax sales over water bills is insufficient.

The first is the more obvious one: Tenants, property heirs and other non-owners could still be evicted from their homes due to water bill debt, sold to collectors during the tax sale.

The second is less obvious, Harris said. Her research has shown that plenty of properties (maybe thousands) are misclassified in the state’s database. So the records may show that a home isn’t occupied by its owner, but the reverse is actually true.

“The main way I see it in my clients is: It’s usually heir homeowners who inherited from a deceased parent,” Harris said.

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.”

That is why it is so important for the legislation to stay in its current form, and exempt all residences, Harris said. She is also pushing for state officials to address the misclassifications more broadly, so that improperly classified homeowners can access critical tax credits, allowing them to retain family homes and build generational wealth.

Jorge Aguilar, southern region director at Food & Water Watch, is also among the advocates who are pleased to see the bill’s language this year.

“Water is an essential resource, and people should have access to water, and we don’t believe that pursuing tax sale for people with unpaid water bills is a fair or equitable way for pursuing these residents,” Aguilar said.

Last year, Del. Dalya Attar, who supported the amended bill exempting only “owner-occupied” homes from tax sale over water bills, told The Baltimore Sun that she wanted to ensure problematic landlords weren’t let off the hook for unpaid water bills.

“Why should investors be exempted from paying water bills and providing vitally needed revenue? Both the state and the city are facing serious budget shortfalls. The city water infrastructure is crumbling,” Attar wrote in an email to The Sun last year.

Advocates agree that the city should recoup unpaid bills, but not via the tax sale process, Harris said, which can force vulnerable Marylanders from their homes — even some unsuspecting residents who have paid their bills but get swept up in the process anyway, perhaps because of a landlord’s lack of payment.

Baltimore residents gained the protection in 2019, through the passage of the Water Taxpayer Protection Act in the General Assembly.

Problems with the city’s water billing, sometimes leading to inaccurate and exorbitant bills for residents, were a big reason for the legislation, Aguilar said.

“The water billing system had errors, and had led to people being put in tax sale erroneously,” Aguilar said.

Baltimore City seems to be the locality that used the tax sale process most frequently to address water bill debt, Aguilar said. But now, advocates are hoping the exemption reaches the entire state.

Have a news tip? Contact Christine Condon at chcondon@baltsun.com, 667-256-6883 and @CChristine19 on X.