County Executive Elrich, Council Vice President Stewart Join Diaz Family to Sign Tenant Safety Bill Into Law

For Immediate Release: Thursday, August 8, 2024

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich was joined by Council Vice President Kate Stewart, Cesar Diaz, the father of Melanie Diaz, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service Chief Corey Smedley, renters and advocates for renter’s rights today to sign Bill 7-24 , Landlord-Tenant Relations – Tenant Protection and Notification, into law. The bill, which was unanimously passed by the Council on July 16, strengthens tenant protections and requires landlords to notify tenants of fire safety, insurance and building maintenance issues.

“I want to thank the parents of Melanie Diaz, Cesar Diaz and Zuleika Madera, for calling for stronger fire safety laws,” said County Executive Elrich. “They suffered a devastating loss after a fire at the Arrive apartment building in Silver Spring last year killed their daughter and injured more than a dozen other tenants. They turned their tragedy into advocacy, and their advocacy has made a difference for the tenants of Montgomery County. This new law is a significant step forward in protecting tenants and preventing another loss of life. I want to thank Council Vice President Kate Stewart for championing the bill and seeing it through, along with the renters’ advocates for their efforts in the fight for tenants’ rights. We hope that no family has to experience a tragedy like this again.”

At the bill signing ceremony, County leaders were joined by the family of Melanie Diaz, who died in the Arrive Silver Spring apartment fire in 2023. Her family have been champions for legislation strengthening fire safety and tenant protections at the County and state level following the deadly fire.

“I want to express thanks to my Council colleagues and the County Executive as we see this tenant protection bill become law,” said Council Vice President Stewart. “Over a year ago, after a fire took the life of Melanie Diaz at the Arrive apartment building and followed not long after by a power outage that put many older people at risk at The Grand in North Bethesda, we got to work on this bill. These dangerous incidents, and others our office looked into at the prompting of residents around the County, can be avoided by improving communication and emergency planning in multi-family rental properties. I am proud of the collaboration that led to the bill signing today and the protections we are putting in place for people to live safely in their homes.”

An increasing number of apartment buildings in Montgomery County are seeing emergency situations, including fires, power outages, water outages, and evacuations, with many instances of building management lacking prevention plans, or plans to inform residents of the incidents and what necessary precautions residents should take. The new bill protects tenants by requiring building managers to clearly and rapidly communicate information to tenants during emergencies. The bill recognizes that emergency communication is critical to safeguarding the community’s health, safety and well-being, especially in the event of fire.

Bill 7-24 requires the following:

Residential leases must clearly state whether the building has automatic sprinkler systems, inform tenants of emergency plans, and whether the lease insures tenant possessions in event of loss or damage due to instances such as fire, smoke or water.

24-hour availability of a building representative, and notification to tenants of any disruption of essential services.

Emergency safety plans for each building, proposed by landlords of multifamily dwellings, to be approved by the Montgomery County Department of Permitting Services.

The legislation goes into effect Oct. 24. A video of the bill signing ceremony can be viewed here and photos can be accessed here .

Release ID: 24-357
Media Contact: Genevieve Kurtz 240-672-2750, Mark Roper 240-962-1743
Categories: Consumer , Executive Office , Housing , Public Safety

For updates and link to press release, see here: http://www2.montgomerycountymd.gov/mcgportalapps/Press_Detail.aspx?Item_ID=45665