Content categorized as Eviction

DC Courts receive $10 million grant to prevent evictions

A new initiative to strengthen local courts and provide legal assistance to people experiencing housing instability across the District was unveiled by the D.C. courts, the National Center for State Courts and the Wells Fargo Foundation on June 1. 

People living in Columbus Circle react to Park Service plans to close their encampment

National Park Services will work in collaboration with D.C. Health and Human Services to shut down two encampments on federal property, ending a pandemic policy that prevented federal authorities from removing encampments on federal land.

DC passes new protections for voucher holders

D.C.’s comprehensive tenant protections bill includes new provisions to prevent discrimination against voucher holders.

Local organizations call for use of surplus funds to address eviction crisis

A group of non-profit organizations have signed a letter calling for Mayor Muriel Bowser to direct more city funds to stop evictions in the District.

DC evicts more than 30 homeless residents from park at New Jersey and O NW, surrounds the site in fences

The second encampment closure occurred on Dec. 2 at the New Jersey and O Street park. Thirteen people obtained leases, while 15 others are engaged with outreach services. However, people fluctuate in and out of the park, some are given little time to connect with services.

DC’s pandemic housing assistance program stops accepting applications this week

Applications for rent and utility assistance close this Wednesday but many Washingtonians are fighting to keep the program open, saying evictions and contributing to homelessness is not humanitarian.

DC Council chair and mayor point fingers as nearly 300 households face eviction during the pandemic

As D.C.’s eviction moratorium begins to unwind, a battle is brewing between D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Mayor Muriel Bowser’s administration over who will take the blame when residents begin to lose their homes.

Families in rapid rehousing still unsure of their future in the program

ome families who were notified last month that their rapid rehousing subsidies will be terminated by Oct. 31 still have not received a correction letter… Read more »

DHS causes panic among families with letter contradicting recently announced changes to rapid rehousing

The Department of Human Services (DHS) sent notices informing about 20 families living in rapid rehousing (RRH) that the agency will terminate their rental subsidies starting Oct. 31, contradicting an earlier announcement made by the agency’s director. Earlier this month, DHS director Laura Zeilinger announced six-month extensions for all families participating in RRH.

‘Crystal Clear’: STAY DC rental assistance offers residents a limited-time opportunity for a financial fresh start

Street Sense Deputy Editor Gordon Chaffin shares his experience with the STAY DC emergency rent assistance program. He argues that D.C.’s program is failing by standing up too many hurdles for applicants to jump and shares quotes from local government officials who don’t seem to be following federal guidance for quick tenant help. Gordon asks everyone in D.C. struggling to pay back rent and utilities to apply at stay.dc.gov.

DC evictions still temporarily paused while federal moratorium remains uncertain

The CDC’s moratorium lapsed at the end of July, and any chances of renewal are still in flux. Regardless, local provisions still give D.C. renters some time.

The eviction bans are ending. Here’s how rental assistance can help people stay in their homes.

Professor Carolyn Gallaher writes on what the end of COVID-19 eviction bans means and how other programs could fill the gap for those in need of assistance.

Protests, occupations, and “takebacks” of unused public housing: Activists notch wins with militant tactics

Spurred by deepening housing, homelessness and gentrification crises, a nationwide wave of militant housing activism is growing as its successes go viral.

DC Council says no to pressuring tenants to apply for rental assistance by threatening eviction

The D.C. Council voted down a controversial measure last week that would have allowed landlords to resume sending eviction notices during the pandemic, opting instead to revisit the proposal at a later date.

My biggest challenge

Artist and vendor Sheila White shares her greatest personal struggle and her concern that many others in the area will be affected by homelessness once pandemic-related eviction prohibitions expire.

Tech issues hobble US tenants fighting eviction in remote hearings

As legal proceedings shift online, many of the most vulnerable are left without the tools they need to show up in court. These problems, legal aid workers say, are affecting eviction hearings across the US.

DC judge rules against eviction moratorium, but the law is still disputed 

A district court judge ruled against the CDC’s eviction moratorium, but the final outcome remains uncertain.

Overloaded with landlords and real-estate developers, Bowser’s “Saving DC’s Rental Housing Market Strike Force” leaves out marginalized tenant voices

Tenant voices were conspicuously absent from the deliberation on recommendations that will affect the District’s most vulnerable renters’ ability to remain housed through the end of the pandemic and long after.

Tenants at Marbury Plaza renew a decade-old rent strike as COVID-19 exacerbates a history of neglect

The D.C. Tenants Union partnered with tenant leaders at Marbury Plaza in Southeast D.C. to organize a rent strike and push the landlord and city government for repairs and rental relief.

Protesters call for Biden’s domestic policy chief to cancel rent

Tenants from D.C., Maryland, and Virginia marched to the home of White House domestic policy chief Susan Rice on Jan. 23 and called on the Biden administration to include rent cancelation in the latest COVID-19 relief package proposal