Council Hearing on Oct. 29 to Address Concessions and Definition of Rent

For the past several years, tenant advocates, housing providers and the Council have been debating the use of concessions. In some areas and for some buildings, recent market forces have caused some housing providers to lower rents, which they are free to do under the Rental Housing Act. However, since the supply and demand forces have reversed course, some housing providers have increased the rents to the pre-concession rates.  While this practice is common for the entire rental housing industry, tenant advocates in rent-controlled properties have alleged that this practice violates the price controls of the rent control regime.

In an effort to resolve the debate, Councilmember Bonds introduced two companion measures, the “Rent Charged Clarification Amendment Act of 2018” and the “Rent Charged Definition Clarification Amendment Act of 2018.” Jointly, the measures seek to define rent as the amount of money a tenant actually pays to a housing provider and resets the rents of all units under rent control as the amount the tenant is actually paying, not the preserved amount.

MEMBER ACTION/NEXT STEPS: On Oct. 29, the Committee on Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization held a hearing on these two measures. Members are encouraged to contact Kirsten Williams with comments on with the proposed legislation.