Report: Proposed DC RENTAL Law Would Harm Black and Low-Income Residents

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.”