A Baltimore City Council committee heard from residents, advocates and housing providers on Thursday, Oct. 29, about elevator outages, mold and long repair delays in buildings that serve older adults. No vote was taken on the hearing resolution, and the committee chair said it would be the first of many conversations on the issue.The Education, Youth, and Older Adults Committee, chaired by Mark Parker of District 1, heard from members including Vice Chair Odette Ramos and Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton. Council President Zeke Cohen also took part. The committee invited the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, the Mayor’s Office of Older Adult Affairs and Advocacy and the city Health Department’s aging division. The hearing follows the city’s Strengthening Renters’ Safety Act, which took effect Jan. 1, 2026, and a newer enforcement bill from Vice Chair Odette Ramos, described on Ramos’s website.
What Residents Told the Committee
Resident Sarah Matthews told the committee that a veteran who is a double amputee crawled from the first floor to the 12th floor to get his medication when elevators were out until the next business day. She said no elevator company would make repairs at night. Matthews asked for licensed clinical social workers in older adult buildings, saying building managers do not have the qualifications to address some of the issues residents face.A former resident of southeast Baltimore senior housing, who gave her first name as Joy, described about 10 or 11 years in two senior housing places. “It was absolute hell,” she said.
What Council Leaders Said
Council President Zeke Cohen said he is troubled when he goes into buildings that serve older adults and sees “elevators in disrepair,” mold and heating and cooling systems broken for months. “That is unacceptable,” he said. Cohen said the cause is sometimes a landlord not taking care of a building and sometimes a money problem, and that he is convening affordable rental housing providers to understand the finances.Council Vice President Sharon Green Middleton said the council recently passed the Rental Dwelling Safety and Health Enforcement Act as a follow-up to the Strengthening Renters’ Safety Act. Ramos’s website says the bill creates receivership for the worst violators and requires customer service training for managers of buildings with more than 20 units for older adults.
Funding and Subsidy Concerns
Eddie Blackstone, a Baltimore organizer with the Community Development Network of Maryland who spoke for the Inclusionary Housing Coalition, said the coalition’s research identified 7,414 affordable senior housing units across 73 properties. He said 247 units were reportedly without subsidies and another 513 face subsidy expiration within five years.Affordable housing providers told the committee that repair costs, including elevators, are high and that funding is hard to get. A housing authority representative was asked about the authority’s 17 buildings in the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program, three of which have elevator issues. Typical operator contracts run 15 years, the representative said.
What Happens Next
No vote was taken. Parker said the committee expects more conversations on the issue as it considers future legislation. The recording did not specify dates for further hearings.
