February 12, 2025 Jon Banister, Deputy East Coast Editor

Mayor Muriel Bowser on Wednesday introduced a package of legislation intended to stabilize D.C.’s housing system, which is on the precipice of widespread distress.

Among the most significant proposals are measures to accelerate eviction cases in the courts and to exempt market-rate and some mixed-income apartment buildings from D.C.’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act — a law that industry insiders say has crippled the city’s multifamily sales market.

Bowser unveiled the legislation, dubbed the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors Tenants And Landlords Act, or RENTAL Act, at a press conference Wednesday, describing it as an effort to protect the District’s existing affordable housing stock and spur more housing production.

The mayor and the Department of Housing and Community Development also announced that they selected 69 projects spanning nearly 8,000 units to receive roughly $144M in bridge funding to stabilize their finances and prevent foreclosure.

Bowser said Wednesday that the hundreds of millions her administration has invested to develop affordable housing in her decade in office is “at risk” because the city has become a “national outlier” in nonpayment of rent. She said between 15% and 20% of D.C. housing units are either vacant or have tenants not paying rent.

“Because of the people who aren’t paying rent, we see an inability for property owners to invest in those properties, to provide security, and long-term to maintain ownership and affordability of those units,” she said. “So our job as the government is to fix the problems that we have in our system.”

Bowser delivered her remarks flanked by executives from affordable housing operators, including Enterprise Community Development and the National Housing Trust. Landlords hailed the RENTAL Act proposal as a needed step for ensuring the health of the housing industry in the city.

“The RENTAL Act is a critical step toward stabilizing DC’s housing market at a time when affordability and investment are both under significant pressure,” Liz DeBarros, the CEO of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, said in a statement. “This legislation not only upholds tenant protections but also fosters a much-needed private investment-friendly climate.”

The bill still must pass the council, and Bowser said her staff has briefed staff members in the offices of Chairman Phil Mendelson and Housing Committee Chairman Robert White on the bills. She hopes they will commit to holding a hearing on the bill before she presents her budget in early April.

Spokespeople for Mendelson and White said the lawmakers weren’t immediately available to comment to Bisnow on the bill. Tenant advocates critiqued the proposal in the hours after its release as stripping rights away from renters.

“This bill will displace low-income residents if passed,” a spokesperson for Legal Aid DC told Bisnow in a statement. “With sweeping changes to TOPA rights, eviction protections, rental assistance and more, the draft legislation further shifts the blame and burden of DC’s affordable housing crisis onto the lowest-income residents.”

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