Content categorized as Tenants

‘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.

With the public health emergency ending, what does that mean for evictions?

Evictions will start soon in D.C. But all is not lost. Tenants have a range of protections and resources available to help them navigate this process.

D.C. Council risks homelessness emergency if it doesn’t support those who suffered during the public health emergency

Amber W. Harding, an attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, shares opinions on what DC must do to confront upcoming housing crises as COVID programs expire.

DC passes emergency legislation to delay evictions and protect consumers from unfair debt collection practices

The D.C. Council passed two emergency bills on July 13 that are intended to help alleviate economic hardships for District residents. The measures include an update to a 50-year-old debt collection law, and a compromised bill that in most cases delays any eviction proceedings until October. 

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.

DC begins to improve its central COVID-19 rent relief program, which applicants say is hard to reach and riddled with delays

Applicants to the District’s rental and utility assistance program said they haven’t received funding, confirmations, or updates months after requesting aid.

What is DOPA? Inside the proposed changes to an unused program meant to preserve affordable housing

The DC Council has recently taken steps to establish a new plan for, and modifications to, the District Opportunity to Purchase Act (DOPA) to increase its utility and use.

Millions in rent and utility relief still available through STAY DC

The D.C. Department of Human Services recently announced $350 million in assistance remains for rent and utility assistance and has encouraged additional applications.

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.

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.

DCHA falls short on transparency in Barry Farm development

Inconsistent communications from the DC Housing Authority and other agencies continues to harm the community’s trust in Barry Farm’s redevelopment.

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.

Housing activism turns confrontational in face of deepening housing crisis

Tenants and housing advocates are using more confrontational tactics to fight eviction and displacement as the national affordable housing shortage intensifies.

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.

Taking advantage of low-income homebuyers in DC — all the way to the bank

Nine women who used DC’s Home Purchase Assistance Program for first-time homebuyers are now forced into a lawsuit after a multiyear battle over poor construction and repairs of their homes.

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

Opportunity to pass permanent eviction record-sealing bill fades as need continues to grow

The DC Council has not yet passed a permanent bill to seal eviction records for tenants in the District.

Rent control omnibus legislation gets hearing with sharp divide between tenant advocates and housing providers

The Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization held a public hearing on omnibus legislation pushed by the Reclaim Rent Control coalition.

Three bills to protect renters get a hearing this week

D.C. Council has passed a number of temporary and emergency bills to protect renters during the pandemic. Now it is considering permanent protections.