D.C. Council votes again on major changes to tenant protections
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
The D.C. Council building. Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post via Getty Images
D.C. may soon see a controversial change to its tenant rights law.
Why it matters: D.C. has long been a tenant-friendly spot, thanks in part to the decades-old Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).
- It gives renters first dibs on buying their property or finding a buyer should their landlord decide to sell.
State of play: Council member Anita Bonds recently introduced a measure that would allow more landlords to bypass the law as part of the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Act (RENTAL Act).
- The legislation passed last month but Bonds' measure, introduced at the last minute, created a technical error, forcing the council to vote again.
Driving the news: The RENTAL Act is up for a revote Tuesday, a spokesperson for Council Chair Phil Mendelson tells Axios.
- That includes Bonds' measure, which would apply to landlords of two-to-four-unit buildings who don't own more than two housing properties in D.C.
- Some members say they didn't have enough time to properly review the measure before it passed. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who introduced the bill earlier this year, has suggested she wants the issue settled quickly.
What they're saying: Bonds has said the measure would protect older landlords who have converted their homes into rentals.
- "We want to protect those who have invested in the city and in their home for years," Kevin Chavous, a spokesperson for Bonds, tells Axios.
- Bonds also argued this addition would not have a big effect on sales to tenants, pointing to a city-issued study that found no examples of such sales at these types of properties. (Which some tenant advocates have questioned.)
Yes, but: A recent Urban Institute report found that most tenant notices of their landlord's plans to sell were filed at two-to-four-unit properties.
- Most of these properties are owned by individuals in wards 5, 6 and 7.
Ward 1 Council member Brianne Nadeau, who voted no last month, tells Axios in a statement that "all tenants, regardless of the size of the building they live in, deserve the right to have a say in what happens to their home."
- "I'm sympathetic to the needs of individual owners of small multifamily buildings and I am confident there are ways to meet those needs without taking away this foundational right."
Zoom out: Overall, the RENTAL Act would allow landlords to evict tenants quicker and would tweak tenant protection laws — such as giving some tenants a "cooling off" period before they can exert their TOPA rights and exempting new multifamily properties built in the last 15 years.
- This comes after the District eased eviction laws and upped tenant protections during COVID, after which unpaid rents skyrocketed and eviction cases backlogged.
What we're watching: Council member Janeese Lewis George's office has circulated an amendment to kill Bonds' measure, a spokesperson tells Axios.
- "The Council and the public must be given the time and opportunity to fully consider the consequences of such a significant policy change," the amendment reads.