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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2
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A
PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to continue existing 14
requirements for providers of commercial or residential rental property to abide by agreed 15
upon rent payment plans with eligible tenants. 16
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution 18
may be cited as the “Tenant Payment Plan Phasing Emergency Declaration Resolution of 19
2025”. 20
Sec. 2. (a) As part of its response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, the 21
Council passed emergency and temporary legislation allowing commercial and residential 22
tenants demonstrating financial hardship in connection with the emergency to apply for 23
payment plans with their landlords. 24
(b) The Council has kept the tenant payment plan framework in place through25
subsequent emergency and temporary measures. The current instance is the Tenant Payment 26
Plan Phasing Continuation Temporary Act of 2024, enacted July 26, 2024 (D.C. Law 25-211; 27
D.C. Official Code § 42-3331). That measure will expire on May 1, 2025.28
(c)Although eligibility to apply for payment plans pursuant to such legislation ended in29
July 2022, the legislation contained tenant protections and administrative provisions, including 30
a 3-year application record retention provision that applies to landlords. The record -keeping 31
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obligation was therefore intended to run through July of 2025. 32
(d) Emergency legislation is necessary to avoid a gap in the law prior to the end of the 33
originally contemplated 3- year implementation timeframe. 34
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 35
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Tenant 36
Payment Plan Phasing Emergency Act of 2025 must be adopted after a single reading. 37
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 38