District Of Columbia 2023 2023-2024 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR25-0876 Enrolled / Bill

Filed 06/25/2024

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A RESOLUTION 
  
25-544 
 
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 
 
June 25, 2024 
 
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Rental 
Housing Act of 1985 to maintain a moratorium on voluntary agreements.  
 
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution 
may be cited as the “Voluntary Agreement Moratorium Emergency Declaration Resolution of 
2024”. 
 
Sec. 2. (a) Section 215 of the Rental Housing Act of 1985 (D.C. Code § 42-
3502.21) allows housing providers to enter into an agreement with 70% or more of the 
tenants in a housing accommodation to establish the rent charged, to make changes to 
services and facilities, and to provide for capital improvements. These agreements are 
called voluntary agreements and must be filed with the Rent Administrator. 
(b) In September 2020, the former Committee on Housing and Neighborhood 
Revitalization held a hearing to contemplate Bill 23-878, the Voluntary Agreement 
Moratorium Amendment Act of 2020, which would impose a 2-year moratorium on 
voluntary agreements. According to the committee report, a majority of public 
witnesses, then-Director of the Department of Housing and Community Development 
Polly Donaldson, and Chief Tenant Advocate Johanna Shreve testified in support of the 
moratorium; many expressed that the legislation should go further and eliminate 
voluntary agreements altogether. A few testimonies stated the importance of voluntary 
agreements to small landlords, though most focused on the negative impact voluntary 
agreements have had on tenants’ rights and the affordable housing stock. 
(c) In December 2020, the Council unanimously passed the 2-year moratorium. 
Because the measure was subject to appropriations, the moratorium ultimately took 
effect at the beginning of Fiscal Year 2022 on October 1, 2021, and expired on October 
1, 2023.  
(d)  In July 2023, Councilmember Bonds introduced the Voluntary Agreement 
Abolition Amendment Act of 2023, which would eliminate voluntary agreements on a 
permanent basis. The Committee on Housing is currently considering this legislation 
and held a hearing on the measure on March 18, 2024. 
(e) In September 2023, the Council unanimously passed legislation to extend 
the 2-year moratorium for one additional year to give the Council time to deliberate a 
permanent legislative solution that will support tenants and minimize harm to both    	ENROLLED ORIGINAL 
 
 
 
 
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tenants and landlords.  
(f) The emergency measure is necessary to maintain the existing moratorium 
and extend it through the end of the Council Period to allow passage of a permanent 
measure. 
 
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 
constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Voluntary Agreement 
Moratorium Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 be adopted after a single reading. 
 
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.