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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 4
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Rental Housing 12
Act of 1985 to enact a moratorium on applications for, and the Mayor’s issuance of, 13
certificates of assurance associated with District rent stabilization laws . 14
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution 16
may be cited as the “Certificate of Assurance Moratorium Extension Emergency Declaration 17
Resolution of 2023”. 18
Sec. 2. (a) Section 221 of the Rental Housing Act of 1985 (D.C. Code § 42-19
3502.21) allows owners of housing accommodations to apply for certificates of assurance 20
from the Mayor, which would provide that in the event their properties become subject to 21
any rent stabilization, the owners would recover in the form of a District real estate tax 22
credit the difference between the annual fair market rents and the annual amount of 23
stabilized rents the owners receive from the tenants in the housing accommodations . 24
(b) Because the certificate of assurance entitlement lasts for as long as the 25
properties remain housing accommodations , the entitlement may create a potentially 26
prohibitive fiscal impact on future legislation . 27
(c) Implementation barriers and concerns kept the program from ever being fully 28
operational. 29 2
(d) On September 22, 2020, the Council passed the Certificate of Assurance 30
Moratorium Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 (Bill 23-0900), which placed an 31
emergency moratorium on applications for, and the Mayor’s issuance of, c ertificates of 32
assurance to owners of housing accommodations. 33
(d) On June 29, 2021, the Council passed t he Certificate of Assurance Moratorium 34
Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2021 (Bill 24 -0314) and the Certificate of 35
Assurance Moratorium Extension Temporary Amendment Act of 2021 (Bill 24 -0315) to 36
extend the moratorium. 37
(e) On May 3, 2022, the Council passed the Certificate of Assurance Moratorium 38
Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24 -0772) and the Certificate of 39
Assurance Moratorium Extension Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 (Bill 24- 0773) to 40
again extend the moratorium. 41
(f) The Certificate of Assurance Moratorium Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 42
is necessary to maintain the status quo and give the Council time to carefully deliberate 43
an appropriate course of action reg arding certificates of assurance. 44
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 45
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the 46
Certificate of Assurance Moratorium Extension Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 be adopted 47
after a single reading. 48
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 49