The proposal would speed up evictions, eliminate some protections for tenants, and exempt buildings from a law that requires tenants have first right of purchase.
A report from the Washington, D.C. Council Office of Racial Equity (CORE) warns that a proposed bill advancing through the District council would have negative impacts on Black and low-income residents.
As Suzie Amanuel explains in Washington CityPaper, the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords (RENTAL) Act would speed up evictions and remove tenant protections, likely intensifying disparities for Black residents. The report notes that wealthier D.C. residents can afford legal representation in eviction cases, whereas lower-income people cannot.
“While other jurisdictions invest in preventing the cycle and decreasing evictions, the District has significantly curtailed emergency rental assistance,” Amanuel adds. According to the report, the act “leaves far too much power up to landlords and the courts—two institutions with far more power and resources than a tenant, particularly those from Black communities in DC.”
The bill exempts newly constructed buildings from the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase (TOPA) law for 15 years and allows further exemptions for buildings that sign on to an affordability covenant. TOPA has helped create affordability and build equity in Black communities, but opponents say it slows development. “Black tenants, who have benefited most from TOPA deals, would disproportionately suffer the consequences of losing TOPA rights, according to CORE.”
FULL STORY: D.C.’s ‘Two-Tiered Justice System’: How the RENTAL Act Threatens Black Tenants
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association