District Of Columbia 2025-2026 Regular Session

District Of Columbia Council Bill PR26-0015 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	~~ENROLLED ORIGINAL~~
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2	2
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	4	+	___ ______ ______ _________ 1
	5	+	Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2
	6	+	3
	7	+	4
	8	+	5
	9	+	A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
	10	+	____________ 7
	11	+	8
	12	+	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 9
	13	+	____________ 10
	14	+	11
	15	+	To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Rental Housing 12
	16	+	Act of 1985 to limit the adjustment of general applicability of the rent charged in rent 13
	17	+	stabilized units. 14
	18	+	15
	19	+	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution 16
	20	+	may be cited as the “Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection Continuation Emergency 17
	21	+	Declaration Resolution of 2025”. 18
	22	+	Sec. 2. (a) Under the Rental Housing Act of 1985, annual rent increases for units in certain 19
	23	+	older buildings are limited to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage 20
	24	+	Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) plus an additional 2% and as approved by the Rental 21
	25	+	Housing Commission in the District. 22
	26	+	(b) In January 2020, the Rental Housing Commission approved an increase of 3.0% 23
	27	+	for May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021, for rent stabilized units. 24
	28	+	(c) In March 2020, the Council of the District of Columbia voted to suspend rent 25
	29	+	increases of any amount in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including rent increases 26
	30	+	in rent stabilized units. 27
	31	+	(d) In January 2021, the Rental Housing Commission approved a 3.0% increase for 28 2
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5	33
6		-	1
7		-
8		-	A RESOLUTION
9		-
10		-	26-11
11		-	IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
12		-
13		-	January 7, 2025
14		-
15		-	To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Rental Housing
16		-	Act of 1985 to limit the adjustment of general applicability of the rent charged in rent
17		-	stabilized units.
18		-
19		-	RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution
20		-	may be cited as the “Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection Continuation Emergency
21		-	Declaration Resolution of 2025”.
22		-
23		-	Sec. 2. (a) Under the Rental Housing Act of 1985, annual rent increases for units in certain
24		-	older buildings are limited to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage
25		-	Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) plus an additional 2% and as approved by the Rental
26		-	Housing Commission in the District.
27		-	(b) In January 2020, the Rental Housing Commission approved an increase of 3.0%
28		-	for May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021, for rent stabilized units.
29		-	(c) In March 2020, the Council voted to suspend rent increases of any amount in
30		-	the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, including rent increases in rent stabilized units.
31		-	(d) In January 2021, the Rental Housing Commission approved a 3.0% increase for
32		-	rent stabilized units, though the Council’s prohibition on rent increases remained in effect.
33		-	(e) On December 31, 2021, the Council lifted the prohibition on rent increases,
34		-	allowing landlords to give 30 days’ notice to tenants of proposed rent increases that could
35		-	begin no sooner than February 1, 2022, and that, in rent stabilized units, could result in a
36		-	maximum increase of 3.0%, per the Rental Housing Commission’s approved rate.
37		-	(f) In January 2022, the Rental Housing Commission approved a 6.2% overall
38		-	increase to rents, which was in effect from May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023.
39		-	(g) In January 2023, the Rental Housing Commission approved an 8.9% overall
40		-	increase to rents in rent stabilized units, which took effect on May 1, 2023, resulting in a
41		-	total increase to rents of 15.1% over two years and 18.1% over three years.
42		-	(h) Under District law, landlords must provide at least 60 days’ notice of a rent
43		-	increase to tenants in rent stabilized units and may only issue a notice of an increase once
44		-	during a 12 -month period at any time throughout the year .
45		-	(i) Except for tenants who qualify, apply for , and received a maximum 5% increase ENROLLED ORIGINAL
	34	+	rent stabilized units, though Council’s prohibition on rent increases remained in effect. 29
	35	+	(e) On December 31, 2021, Council lifted the prohibition on rent increases, 30
	36	+	allowing landlords to give 30 days’ notice to tenants of proposed rent increases that could 31
	37	+	begin no sooner than February 1, 2022, and that, in rent stabilized units, could result in a 32
	38	+	maximum increase of 3.0%, per the Rental Housing Commission’s approved rate. 33
	39	+	(f) In January 2022, the Rental Housing Commission approved a 6.2% overall 34
	40	+	increase to rents, which was in effect from May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023. 35
	41	+	(g) In January 2023, the Rental Housing Commission approved an 8.9% overall 36
	42	+	increase to rents in rent stabilized units, which took effect on May 1, 2023, resulting in a 37
	43	+	total increase to rents of 15.1% over two years and 18.1% over three years. 38
	44	+	(h) Under DC law, landlords must provide at least 60 days’ notice of a rent increase 39
	45	+	to tenants in rent stabilized units and may only issue a notice of an increase once during a 40
	46	+	12-month period at any time throughout the year . 41
	47	+	(i) Except for tenants who qualify, apply for , and received a maximum 5% increase 42
	48	+	in rent because they are elderly or a person with a disability, tenants subject to the 43
	49	+	maximum 8.9% increase from 2023 faced the highest rental increase in the history of the 44
	50	+	District’s rent stabilization program by more than 1.0% ; the next highest increase was 45
	51	+	7.6% and occurred over 30 years ago in 1990. 46
	52	+	(j) While landlords expressed concerns about the impact of rising maintenance and business 47
	53	+	expenses on their ability to serve their tenants and maintain their businesses, tenant s and tenant 48
	54	+	advocates also raised serious concerns that an 8.9% increase would have contributed to significant 49 3
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47	56
	57	+	hardship for many of the households living in the over 70,000 rent stabilized units in the District 50
	58	+	and may have led to the displacement of residents with lower incomes. 51
	59	+	(k) In response, in June 2023, the Council unanimously passed the “Rent Stabilized 52
	60	+	Housing Inflation Protection Amendment Act of 2023” and the “Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation 53
	61	+	Protection Temporary Amendment Act of 2023,” to mitigate this displacement risk and preserve 54
	62	+	the District’s affordable housing stock. 55
	63	+	(l) In March 2024, the Council passed the “Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection 56
	64	+	Continuation Emergency Amendment Act of 2024” and the
	65	+	“Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation 57
	66	+	Protection Continuation Temporary Amendment Act of 2024” to continue the protections. 58
	67	+	(m) The Council’s legislation set a 4% annual cap in rent between July 1, 2023, and April 59
	68	+	30, 2025, for units occupied by residents who are elderly or who have a disability, or for units that 60
	69	+	are co-leased by a home and community- based services waiver, and the legislation set a 6% cap for 61
	70	+	all other rent stabilized units. 62
	71	+	(n) The Council’s legislation also set 8% and 12% cumulative caps, respectively, between 63
	72	+	May 1, 2023, and April 30, 2025, to support tenants who already faced the 5% or 8.9% increase 64
	73	+	between May 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023. 65
	74	+	(o) The existing temporary legislation will expire on January 12, 2025. This 66
	75	+	emergency and temporary legislation is therefore necessary to ensure tenants and the 67
	76	+	District’s affordable housing stock are still protected by the annual cap and the 2-year 68
	77	+	cumulative cap. 69
	78	+	Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 70
	79	+	enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Rent 71 4
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49	81
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51		-
52		-	in rent because they are elderly or a person with a disability, tenants subject to the
53		-	maximum 8.9% increase from 2023 faced the highest rental increase in the history of the
54		-	District’s rent stabilization program by more than 1.0% ; the next highest increase was
55		-	7.6% and occurred over 30 years ago in 1990.
56		-	(j) While landlords expressed concerns about the impact of rising maintenance and business
57		-	expenses on their ability to serve their tenants and maintain their businesses, tenant s and tenant
58		-	advocates also raised serious concerns that an 8.9% increase would have contributed to significant
59		-	hardship for many of the households living in the over 70,000 rent stabilized units in the District
60		-	and may have led to the displacement of residents with lower incomes.
61		-	(k) In response, in June 2023, the Council unanimously passed the Rent Stabilized Housing
62		-	Inflation Protection Amendment Act of 2023 and the Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection
63		-	Temporary Amendment Act of 2023, to mitigate this displacement risk and preserve the District’s
64		-	affordable housing stock.
65		-	(l) In March 2024, the Council passed the Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection
66		-	Continuation Emergency Amendment Act of 2024 and the Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation
67		-	Protection Continuation Temporary Amendment Act of 2024 to continue the se protections.
68		-	(m) The Council’s legislation set a 4% annual cap in rent between July 1, 2023, and April
69		-	30, 2025, for units occupied by residents who are elderly or who have a disability, or for units that
70		-	are co-leased by a home and community- based services waiver, and the legislation set a 6% cap for
71		-	all other rent stabilized units.
72		-	(n) The Council’s legislation also set 8% and 12% cumulative caps, respectively, between
73		-	May 1, 2023, and April 30, 2025, to support tenants who already faced the 5% or 8.9% increase
74		-	between May 1, 2023, and June 30, 2023.
75		-	(o) The existing temporary legislation will expire on January 12, 2025. Emergency
76		-	legislation is therefore necessary to ensure tenants and the District’s affordable housing
77		-	stock are still protected by the annual cap and the 2-year cumulative cap.
78		-
79		-	Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
80		-	enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Rent
81		-	Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection Continuation Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be
82		-	adopted after a single reading.
83		-
84		-	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
	82	+	Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection Continuation Emergency Amendment Act of 2025 be 72
	83	+	adopted after a single reading. 73
	84	+	Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 74