AOBA Urges Council to Reverse RENTAL Act Changes, Oppose Tax Increases

For years, the Council has passed damaging housing laws that prolonged the eviction process, created a crisis of unpaid rent, increased eviction rates, and hindered real estate development and transactions. These laws were passed over strenuous objections from AOBA and the real estate community. There was no balance, nor any give and take, as some Council members described today as the task of legislating. 

The RENTAL Act, as introduced by the Mayor, was designed to stabilize the District's housing system. Today's decision by the Council's Housing Committee guts sections of the bill, rendering it an inadequate response to addressing the issues before us. 

"The Mayor's RENTAL Act represented bold reforms designed to repair the damage caused by years of bad decisions by the Council when it comes to housing," said Lisa Mallory, President and CEO of AOBA. Today's action by the Housing Committee removes or severely weakens many of its most critical provisions, resulting in a bill that fails to meet the moment."

Residents should be protected from violent offenders living in their communities, the housing court process is broken and must be reformed, and apartment investment and development must be allowed to occur without overly burdensome TOPA requirements.

Worryingly, today's action is paired with the threat of new taxes on real estate and businesses that would inevitably lead to higher commercial and multifamily rents. If these new taxes are passed, renters and small businesses will ultimately pay more for apartments and retail space. 

This is not a path the District should follow. Having acknowledged the crisis, failure to act accordingly constitutes a dereliction of duty that will doom the District to severe economic consequences. We call on the council to reverse course, oppose new taxes, and restore the provisions of the RENTAL Act it has removed.