AUGUSTA - Rep. Ambureen Rana, D-Bangor, introduced legislation Thursday that would prohibit landlords from asking prospective tenants about their eviction history in an effort to reduce housing discrimination.
"This bill was brought to my attention by individuals in Bangor who have been volunteering their time to support and find solutions for our unhoused community members," said Rana. "Through their work, they have reported that Bangor's unhoused community commonly faces discrimination based on rental history, which inhibits their ability to acquire housing."
According to the Eviction Lab at Princeton University, 2.8 evictions were filed for every 100 renter households in Maine. In 2022, Maine courts reported that the number of housing eviction filings spiked 27% over the previous year, climbing from 3,908 in 2021 to 4,965 in 2022.
"While we are taking steps to address the housing crisis through increasing our housing stock and building more affordable units that are accessible to Mainers with low and median incomes, we must also address our current practice of refusing someone a place to live because of their past rental history," said Rana. "The inability to pay rent in someone's past does not necessarily equate to the inability to pay rent forever. Discrimination against those who have been evicted in the past further contributes to our homelessness crisis."
The Legislature's Judiciary Committee will hold a work session on the bill in the coming weeks.
Rana is serving her first term in the Maine House and represents House District 21, which is home to many of Bangor's service providers, tent cities, homeless shelters and warming shelters. She serves on the Legislature's Joint Standing Committee on Taxation and the Joint Select Committee on Housing.
Contact:
Brian Lee [Rana], 305-965-2744