D.C. Council Rejects Proposal to End Eviction Moratorium
2021年5月25日
5月18日，D.C. Council voted to maintain the city’s eviction moratorium. The moratorium protects tenants from eviction for nonpayment until 60 days after the public health emergency (which the Mayor just extended to July 25) ends. The bill would have allowed eviction filings to resume on July 1. The Council is likely to reconsider the eviction filing moratorium when it meets again in June. In the meantime, the 公益性服务 Center is fielding calls every day to ensure that D.C. residents can continue to live in safe and affordable housing.
The 公益性服务 Center is working with tenants to navigate the STAY DC application process. STAY DC is the city’s new financial assistance program to repay back rent and utilities that accrued during the pandemic. Tenants can receive up to 18 months’ worth of assistance dating back to April 2020 and pay up to three months going forward. Federal assistance for the program expires in September, so tenants are encouraged to apply as soon as possible.
“If we can reduce the number of tenants with rent debt, we can reduce the number of tenants who will face eviction when the moratorium ends,” says 公益性服务 Center 住房 Managing Attorney Gabriella Lewis-White. “随着项目的一些改进, 从网站开始, STAY DC可以帮助人们呆在家里.”
While hoping to minimize the impact of the looming eviction crisis, the Center is also helping tenants seal their eviction records under the District’s temporary legislation and supporting proposed permanent legislation allowing eviction records to be sealed. D.C. tenants living on low incomes face extraordinary challenges in obtaining safe, affordable housing. According to the National Low Income 住房 Coalition, there are about 50 affordable units available in D.C. for every 100 renters that qualify as “extremely low income.”
在D.C., eviction records create an additional barrier to affordable housing. A study by Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy notes that landlords often deny applicants based on the mere presence of an eviction filing on their record, 不管案件的最终判决如何. The Eviction Record Sealing Authority Amendment Act of 2021 would mean that eviction records would no longer be generally available to the public.
最后, 为即将到来的驱逐浪潮做准备, the Center is providing landlord-tenant trainings to equip volunteer attorneys with the skills they need to help D.C. 有需要的居民. 特区正面临着这场危机, volunteer lawyers will be essential to helping our neighbors avoid homelessness.
