Caroline Tripp

The Project

Caroline Tripp (she/her/hers) promotes housing stability by representing low-income tenants in eviction proceedings and rent escrow actions.

Maryland housing law incentivizes landlords to file for eviction to collect rent. Between 2000 and 2018, there was an eviction filing rate of 83.3%, a number more than ten times the 7.7% rate for the other 49 states. As a result, Baltimore County has a failure to pay rent docket of over a thousand cases daily. Systematic inequalities are visible in rent court, in 2022 more than 90% of landlords have counsel compared to less than 10% of tenants.

Fellowship Plans

During her fellowship, Caroline will implement Maryland’s recent Access to Counsel in Evictions legislation, which provides low-income tenants with legal representation in eviction proceedings. Her legal work will include fighting evictions and enforcing tenants’ rights to safe and habitable housing through rent escrow cases. She will also be engaging in community outreach, educating tenants about their rights, and mobilizing people living in dangerous conditions.

Caroline is from Maryland and is excited to return to her home state and give back to the community that shaped her. She is grateful that her fellowship gives her the opportunity to engage with tenants through outreach.