ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today signed two key bills aimed at renewing and expanding the NonProfit Collaborative (NPC), and to increase the required amount of days for landlords to provide a notice to tenants facing eviction. Photos of the signing can be found on the County’s Flickr webpage.
“Today's bill signings reflect our unwavering commitment to the people who call Howard County home. Through CB11-2026, we renew and expand the NonProfit Collaborative for another ten years, investing in the organizations that serve over 15,000 of our neighbors annually and giving them the space to grow,” said Ball. “Under CB12-2026, Howard County is extending eviction notice requirements from six days to 14, helping families facing one of the hardest moments of their lives have a real chance to find stability before it's too late. Together, we will use every tool at our disposal to support our residents and community members.”
CB11-2026: Expanding the NonProfit Collaborative
In 2016, Howard County Government entered into a 10-year Multi-Year Agreement with the Howard County Housing Commission and the Association of Community Services of Howard County to create the NonProfit Collaborative (NPC). Through this 10-year agreement, the County provides a financial subsidy that covers approximately 62% of the rent for nonprofit tenants. That agreement is set to expire in June 2026.
Earlier this year, County Executive Ball joined nonprofit leaders to announce plans to renew and expand the NonProfit Collaborative. CB11-2026 would renew the Multi-Year Agreement and County subsidy for another 10 years. The total County subsidy until 2036 would amount to approximately $4.3 million. The new agreement will support the expansion of the NPC for the first time in the past decade, allowing for an anticipated 12 additional local non-profits to be housed at 9770 Patuxent Woods Dr. in Columbia. In its most recent fiscal year, the NPC collectively served more than 15,000 community members.
Under the new agreement, the Housing Commission will continue using a portion of the property for its office space, while subleasing the remainder to ACS and the other participating non-profit entities. The expansion will bring the NPC to 35,500 square feet, of which 9,700 square feet will be utilized by Housing Commission and 25,800 square feet will be leased to the NPC tenants.
Twelve nonprofit tenant organizations currently reside in the NPC:
- Association of Community Services of Howard County
- Autism Society of Maryland
- Bridges to Housing Stability
- Camp Attaway
- Compass, Inc.
- Heritage Housing Partners Corporation
- HopeWorks of Howard County
- Howard EcoWorks
- MakingChange
- Mediation & Conflict Resolution Center
- S.A.F.E. -Supplying Allergy Friendly & Emergency – Food Pantry
- United Way of Central Maryland
Nineteen additional nonprofits rent mailboxes at the NPC, giving them a street address instead of a P.O. Box.
Council Bill 12-2026: Strengthening Protections During the Eviction Process
Ball also signed CB12-2026, which requires landlords to provide at least 14 days written notice to a tenant upon the issuance of a warrant of restitution. This legislation is part of Ball’s LIVE (Landlord accountability, Investment in quality, Victim protection and Eviction prevention) initiative to address and reduce landlord-tenant issues, announced earlier this year.
CB12-2026 also requires:
- the notice be sent and posted in certain methods and timeframes;
- the Office of Consumer Protection to create a URL that contains certain information;
- the Office of Consumer Protection to maintain certain information;
- amending penalty provisions for violations of landlord-tenant provisions of the County Code;
- a penalty in the form of a CLASS A violation if Landlord fails to provide proper notice; and
- making certain technical corrections.
During the December meeting of the Advisory Board on Consumer Protection, the Board unanimously voted to recommend that the County amend Howard County Code to increase the 6-day notice to a 14-day notice of a scheduled eviction. The new requirements become effective on May 6, 2026.
In addition to the new requirements under CB12-2026, Ball’s LIVE initiative also included an Executive Order signed in January 2026 to address habitability concerns experienced by tenants by expanding and strengthening the County departments and offices that handle landlord-tenant complaints.
To support the LIVE initiative, the Office of Consumer Protection and Department of Licenses and Permits will increase its staff to accommodate the increased responsibilities.