Posts tagged Rent Control
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Breakfast links: A new round of rental assistance will soon be available to Montgomery County residents
MoCo will open a $43 million rental assistance fund for residents on Monday. Black people make up half of Fairfax County’s population of unsheltered residents. DC looks to update where it keeps its archives. Keep reading…
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One DC building, three TOPA processes
A building in DC was sold three times in the last 20 years. How did the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act work during each of those sales? Keep reading…
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How can DC fix its rental market post-pandemic? A strike force had some ideas.
A housing strike force released a report this month laying out its recommendations for helping DC’s rental housing market recover after more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Keep reading…
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Two bills could bring rent control and “missing middle” homes to Montgomery County
If you’ve tried to find a home in Montgomery County recently, you know things are rough. The county has a housing shortage, with 23,000 homes needed in the next 10 years. The median home price in the county is a half-million dollars, 14% more than last year. Rents are rising more slowly, but some tenants still received 33% rent increases this year. An estimated 20,000 households are behind on rent due to pandemic-related financial hardship, and could get evicted. But, two bills on the horizon could provide some help for residents. Keep reading…
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Rent controlled apartments may slow displacement for people of color, a report finds
A new housing report by the DC Policy Center found, “The presence of rent-controlled housing is positively correlated with longer tenure and a smaller loss of residents of color, suggesting that rent-controlled stock, at some level, could be playing a role in mitigating displacement.” Keep reading…
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My building used a rent control loophole. Here’s what happened.
A combination of hardship petitions and voluntary agreements puts tenants in the uncomfortable position of negotiating away future affordability in order to protect themselves from substantial rent increases. Keep reading…
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We’re joining DC’s Reclaim Rent Control coalition. Here’s why.
DC will soon renew its rent stabilization policy, which limits the amount rent can increase in older apartment buildings of a certain size. Last year, in anticipation of this, a coalition called the Reclaim Rent Control was formed to push for a more expansive policy. Keep reading…
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DC held an epic hearing on rent control on Wednesday. Here’s my testimony.
On Wednesday, the DC Council held a hearing on a bill to renew rent control, which is scheduled to expire in 2020. More than a hundred people signed up to testify, most in favor, of the legislation. I was among those who weighed in on the proposal. My testimony is below: Keep reading…
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DC’s new tenants union wants to help renters stay in the city
DC is a city of renters. Recent statistics suggest that almost 60% of District residents are renters. And now, DC’s renters have a union to represent their interests. This union came about because of the city’s intense gentrification, and the difficulty of addressing problems related to it through existing avenues. Keep reading…
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A Columbia Heights rent strike highlights abuses low-income tenants face in DC
As the neighborhood has transformed around them, residents at 1454 Irving St NW, most of whom are elderly immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean, have suffered from long-term neglect that threatens their health and safety. Keep reading…