DC Council Moves to Roll Back Renter Protections as Affordable Housing Providers Struggle

The Washington. D.C. Council could end pandemic-era renter protections and roll back assistance programs, report Meagan Flynn and Aaron Wiener in The Washington Post.

The proposal from Council Chairman Phil Mendelson comes as District affordable housing providers face millions in unpaid rent, high interest rates, and rising insurance costs — with the blame falling largely on unpaid rent — in what Jon Banister called an ‘existential crisis.’ “At some properties, as many as 40 percent of tenants are behind on their rent, leaving the landlords in a financial hole, building owners say.” Mayor Bowser proposed cuts to the program in April, calling for a return to “everybody paying their rent and utilities.”

The proposed legislation would create stricter rules around documentation for Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) recipients and new standards that could speed up eviction proceedings. “Under the proposal, judges could only pause an eviction case if a tenant shows evidence that rental assistance from the District could help them fully resolve their unpaid rent or that the tenant and landlord have agreed to a payment plan to resolve the remaining balance.”

Council Member Robert C. White Jr., chairman of the council’s housing committee, expressed concern about the deep need for affordable housing, but ultimately supported Mendelson’s bill, noting that “the data that we’ve gotten on nonpayment on rent and the impact that that’s having.”