Tenant Advocacy Continues as D.C. Evictions Resume
November 18, 2021
Tenant evictions are back, and renters, housing advocates, and housing providers are grappling with the new normal. A November 15 webinar co-sponsored by the D.C. Bar Real Estate, Housing and Land Use Community and the Programs Committee of the District of Columbia Affairs Community highlighted D.C. government support for tenants, the challenges housing providers have faced during the pandemic, and the legal services available for renters.
This past July, the D.C. government lifted the public health emergency associated with the coronavirus and began the rollback for the eviction moratorium and rent increase freeze that had given relief to D.C. tenants since early in the pandemic. Evictions in cases decided before the pandemic resumed in September.
Beginning October 12, landlords could file new eviction notices in D.C. Superior Court for nonpayment of rent, with new eviction filings for other reasons allowed starting January 1, 2022. Also, rents can increase beginning January 1, 2022.
Daniel Mayer, co-chair of the District of Columbia Affairs Community and general counsel for the D.C. Rental Housing Commission, said the webinar aimed to highlight significant developments and challenges in rental housing in the District following the end of the eviction moratorium. “And we wanted to get lawyers and practitioners all the information that we could because there has been so much change and try to tee up some conversations that policy makers can use to look at where we can go from here,” Mayer said after the webinar.
Beth Mellen, supervising attorney in the Housing Law Unit of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and director of the organization’s Eviction Defense Project, said that as of November 5 there were 339 scheduled redeemable evictions — where tenants can redeem tenancy by paying the amount due plus court costs — and 85 nonredeemable evictions (typically in breach-of-lease cases). Of these, tenant advocates succeeded in stopping two-thirds of the redeemable evictions and one-third of the nonredeemable ones.
Mellen credits these successes to the partnership among legal services providers, canvassers, rental assistance providers, and D.C. government agencies. “We have been doing really targeted and intensive outreach to those tenants,” Mellen said, adding that the D.C. government’s paying off of rental balances has been critical.
Noah Abraham, deputy administrator for the D.C. Department of Human Services (DHS), spoke about the city’s programs to help renters, focusing particularly on the STAY DC rent and utility support program, which received significant federal funding during the pandemic and has played a large role in the city’s eviction-avoidance strategy.
Abraham said that during the pandemic, STAY DC approved assistance for more than 30,000 residents for a net sum of approximately $175 million. Importantly, 83 percent of those granted assistance were in the lower 30 percent of the area median income. In addition, Abraham pointed out that although the STAY DC application deadline was October 27, DHS saw a surge in applications during the past two weeks, prompting the District to seek more federal funding.
Katalin Peter, vice president for government affairs (D.C. residential) of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, spoke from the perspective of housing providers, emphasizing the high operating costs and small returns for owners. Peter said that while the health emergency has been lifted, other measures are in place and reinstated emergency regulations are still a possibility. Restrictions on rent increases and mandates for rent payment plans were among the measures that came along with the eviction moratorium, diminishing the set of responses available to housing providers.
For housing providers, eviction is a last resort, Peter said, but the providers have not had an adequate safety exception to evict tenants whose behavior is troublesome for other renters. “There has not been any sort of realistic crystal ball for the next two or three years that would really give housing providers a view of what their portfolios would look like,” Peter said.
Mellen and Abraham closed the webinar by highlighting the services available for D.C. residents facing eviction and other rent-related challenges. While STAY DC awaits uncertain funding replenishment, Abraham pointed out that applications are still being considered for renters who sought assistance before the deadline. New D.C. residents also can still receive financial help through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, Abraham said.
For those seeking legal help to avoid eviction or to address other rental issues, Mellen mentioned the Housing Right to Counsel Project, the Landlord Tenant Legal Assistance Network (comprising the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center and five other organizations), and the Pro Bono Center’s Advocacy & Justice Clinic. These organizations also offer training and advocacy opportunities for lawyers who want to help lower-income renters.
“The case filing has been slow so far, but we think it will gradually build up in the coming months, so we are looking forward to working with our pro bono partners to help meet the need,” Mellen said.
Speaking afterward, Mellen emphasized that when these eviction cases go to court, landlords overwhelmingly have lawyers, while tenants do not. According to Mellen, that is in part why the laws and regulations have so many layers and steps. “Protection for tenants creates some complications, but it is there for a reason,” Mellen said. “It is there to make the process more fair in a process that tends to be weighted in various ways to landlord interests.”
