June 8

DC Council lowers caps on rent increases for rent controlled units

On Tuesday June 6th, 2023, the D.C. Council approved emergency legislation that will lower the caps on annual rent increases for Rent Control Year 2023 (5/1/23 to 4/30/24). The “Rent Stabilized Housing Inflation Protection Emergency Amendment Act of 2023” imposes a cumulative cap on annual rent increases for the 24-month period between 5/1/23 and 4/30/25 of 8% for elderly and disability tenants, and 12% for all other tenants. This means that if a landlord followed the Rental Housing Commission’s January 2023 determination and increased the rent by 8.9% (our original post on that determination can be found here), then next year’s increase can be no greater than 3.1% (i.e., 8.9 + 3.1 = 12.0).

There are other provisions in this new law regarding issuance of revised rent increase notices, as well as refunds of overpayments of rent increases.

Please give us a call to discuss these nuanced issues in detail.

$10 Million DC Rent Grant

Today, DC announced a new $10 million rent grant program. Time is of the essence because applications open on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, close on Friday, December 11, 2020, and will be assessed on a rolling basis. The program will pay 80% of the delinquent rent if the landlord waives the remaining 20% and any unpaid fees. The grants will cover up to $2,000 per month since April 2020. You can read more about the program here in today’s Situational Update, starting on page 6. Additional information can be found here. Details on the program are not up on the DC COVID website (https://coronavirus.dc.gov/rent) as of November 30th, and we have not seen an application form, but we have been told to check back tomorrow.

Please contact our office at 202-269-3333 with any questions.

Residential Lease Clarification Amendment Act of 2016

DC has enacted a new residential Landlord and Tenant Law. The Residential Lease Clarification Amendment Act of 2016 provides helpful insight on a number of relevant topics. Specifically, the law: (1) limits mandatory fees a landlord can charge; (2) defines “ordinary wear and tear” for security deposit purposes; (3) defines what constitutes reasonable notice and purpose for a landlord to access a tenant’s unit; (4) provides a duty for a landlord to mitigate damages after a tenant breaches the lease; (5) specifies timeframes for a tenant to provide notice to vacate and for a landlord to provide notice of a rent increase; (6) explains what consent is needed from a landlord in order for a tenant to sublease; and (7) provides penalties for noncompliance. You can read the new law here. Please contact Battino & Sokolow to discuss these matters in detail to ensure proper compliance.

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