Extend the Rent Freeze
The DC Council
DC Council: Extend the rent freeze for a full year.
On December 31, 2021, the rent freeze that has protected tenants for the duration of the pandemic will end. Allowing the rent freeze to expire will leave all DC tenants vulnerable to massive rent increases that could lead to a new wave of evictions. We are already in the midst of an eviction crisis: programs that help tenants pay their rent have ended or are running out of money, and eviction filings are on the rise. At the same time, the District continues to destroy encampments, leaving unhoused neighbors without safe alternatives. As lawmakers, you have the ability to prevent the eviction crisis from worsening, particularly in the coldest months of the year.
Cities across the country have shown us the danger of ending rent protections for tenants; in some places rents have increased as much as 40%. Even with the freeze, rents in DC have gone up by 8.4% over the last 12 months. With rising inflation and wages that can’t keep up, many tenants - those in rent-controlled and market-rate buildings alike- could experience rent increases of up to 7.9%. For a $1,900 a month unit that may mean an increase of $150 per month, vital money that is needed for groceries or heat. Now is not the time to throw households who are slowly rebuilding their lives back into uncertainty, instability, and turmoil.
Extend the rent freeze. We need more time to stabilize our communities, not throw struggling families into uncertainty. By stabilizing rents for another 12 months, we can focus on getting tenants the support they need, ensure communities across our city have access to good paying jobs, and strengthen and expand tenant protections for all DC residents.
Every member of the DC Council has a choice to make: leave tenants to face an unstable and unaffordable housing market through the winter, or help the people of DC feel safe and secure in their homes this winter by Extending the Rent Freeze.
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Additional Sponsors
To:
The DC Council
From:
[Your Name]
DC Council: Extend the rent freeze for a full year.
On December 31, 2021, the rent freeze that has protected tenants for the duration of the pandemic will end. Allowing the rent freeze to expire will leave all DC tenants vulnerable to massive rent increases that could lead to a new wave of evictions. We are already in the midst of an eviction crisis: programs that help tenants pay their rent have ended or are running out of money, and eviction filings are on the rise. At the same time, the District continues to destroy encampments, leaving unhoused neighbors without safe alternatives. As lawmakers, you have the ability to prevent the eviction crisis from worsening, particularly in the coldest months of the year.
Cities across the country have shown us the danger of ending rent protections for tenants; in some places rents have increased as much as 40%. Even with the freeze, rents in DC have gone up by 8.4% over the last 12 months. With rising inflation and wages that can’t keep up, many tenants - those in rent-controlled and market-rate buildings alike- could experience rent increases of up to 7.9%. For a $1,900 a month unit that may mean an increase of $150 per month, vital money that is needed for groceries or heat. Now is not the time to throw households who are slowly rebuilding their lives back into uncertainty, instability, and turmoil.
Extend the rent freeze. We need more time to stabilize our communities, not throw struggling families into uncertainty. By stabilizing rents for another 12 months, we can focus on getting tenants the support they need, ensure communities across our city have access to good paying jobs, and strengthen and expand tenant protections for all DC residents.
Every member of the DC Council has a choice to make: leave tenants to face an unstable and unaffordable housing market through the winter, or help the people of DC feel safe and secure in their homes this winter by Extending the Rent Freeze.