Street Sense Media, November 18, Rent control omnibus legislation gets hearing with sharp divide between tenant advocates and housing providers
The omnibus bill has been championed by the Reclaim Rent Control coalition, a campaign to expand rent control to protect more District tenants, close existing loopholes that benefit landlords and keep rent-controlled housing affordable.
Public witness Catherine Heinhold said, “loopholes in the current rent control law accelerate the gentrification of our neighborhoods, break up communities and lead to a net loss of affordable housing. We need laws which encourage landlords to remember they are not simply in a business venture but are providing a service that is a basic human need.”
Last year, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition released a study that showed the effects of gentrification in the District: more than 20,000 Black residents were pushed out of the city from 2000-2013 as a result of displacement, and D.C. had the highest percentage of gentrification of the cities analyzed. The District remained one of the most-gentrified cities, dropping from first to thirteenth, in a second study NCRC released in June that analyzed the years 2012-2017.
