On October 1, the D.C. Council, after intense lobbying from landlords, unanimously passed emergency legislation restricting access to D.C.’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) and speeding up evictions. There needs to be a better approach. Although Councilmember Robert White successfully spearheaded amendments to make the bill less harmful to tenants, the emergency legislation doesn’t fix the real problem of unpaid rent— rent is too high, incomes are too low, and there are limited supports to bridge the difference. The emergency law is now in effect, but D.C. Council will soon pass permanent legislation. The D.C. Council will hold a hearing on the permanent version of the law, the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2024, on Nov. 15.

What’s wrong with the law:

The Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2024 does not help tenants pay rent or help landlords pay their bills. The law does nothing to account for, or even acknowledge, the rising cost of living in D.C. Housing instability and homelessness has increased by 14% this year. Rents have continued to increase, but incomes have not. The law limits tenants’ legal rights to avoid eviction, but does nothing to fix the issue of Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) payment delays caused by landlords who fail to provide needed documents or slow processing by the Department of Human Services (DHS).

The Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2024 makes it harder for struggling low-income tenants to qualify for help paying their rent, avoid eviction, and stay in their homes (these changes could also remove the last safety net available to #KeepFamiliesHoused in rapid re-housing). Mayor Bowser and landlords have been claiming that ERAP applicants are committing fraud–- without any proof. By adopting a law based on those claims, without requiring proof, the Council is tacitly endorsing unproven myths and stereotypes about poor, primarily Black people who apply for government programs. Finally, the emergency law increases the speed and number of evictions in D.C, which will likely push evictions to a ten-year high this year.

You can read the permanent legislation here and read more about our concerns here.

What’s next:

We cannot stand by as the D.C. Council and Mayor Bowser make bad law and policy that puts D.C. residents at higher risk of eviction based on unsupported claims by powerful landlord lobbyists. We cannot stand by as elected officials claim they are reforming a program yet the only “reform” harms low-income tenants, making it harder to get help. We cannot stand by as elected leaders turn a blind eye to the massive affordable housing, eviction, and homelessness crises and take proactive steps to worsen those crises.

Tell D.C. Council to stand with low-income renters! D.C. needs real solutions for its affordable housing crisis, NOT more evictions.

E-mail the D.C. Council and tell them to fix the harmful changes in the emergency legislation, improve how ERAP functions in the permanent bill, and work towards solutions to address rising housing costs that don’t harm low-income residents.