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Right now, District residents are facing a combination of serious housing issues: Inflation, 2,200 units of our public housing not in livable condition, and a 40-year high rent increase of almost 9% for rent controlled apartments coming soon. These all have the potential to make our affordable housing problem worse, displace people, and prevent progress on ending homelessness. DC is in a challenging economic position with less revenue and federal funding from the COVID-era American Rescue Plan Act drying up.
The Mayor's budget proposes devastating cuts to our social safety net, and I don't see investments in affordable housing and homeless prevention that residents are already desperate for. In my role as chair of the Committee on Housing, I know from visiting encampments, shelters, and public housing sites how harmful disinvestment in our social safety net programs can be to residents. As a native Washingtonian with family who have been displaced by rising costs, I also know the profound loss we suffer when people fall through the cracks in our system. That knowledge guides all my work and will guide my approach to this budget as well.
In the proposed budget, DC will produce and preserve less affordable housing because of a proposed $344 million decrease in spending on the Housing Production Trust Fund, which is our primary tool for creating and preserving affordable housing.
Inflation is higher than it’s been in 40 years, and rents are going up around the city. The Mayor's budget proposes investing just $8 million in the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERAP) Fund -- a devastating $34.7 million cut in funding. ERAP ran out of funds after less than six months this year, even though it had tens of millions of dollars more than what the Mayor is proposing for next year. With the proposed underinvestment in affordable housing and public housing, more people will end up in housing they can't afford. Then, when any small issue comes up, they find themselves in debt and facing eviction unless they can get ERAP assistance. The $8 million for ERAP is wildly unrealistic for what our residents will likely need.
The District's public housing is in a dire state with 2,200 units not fit for habitation and a work order backlog of 10,000 maintenance issues -- many of them urgent. I requested $100 million a year for the next five years for repair and maintenance of our public housing. The budget proposal only adds $3.2 million to the funding we’ve had for repair and maintenance in the past, which has never been enough.
Residents are facing eviction and many are experiencing slum conditions. The Mayor's budget proposes slashing the budget of the Office of the Tenant Advocate by more than 17%. It cuts 11 positions from the Department of Buildings Rental Housing Inspections Division, which helps ensure that residents have safe, healthy housing. It also cuts $18.7 million in funding for the Access to Justice initiative, which provides civil legal services, which many use to avoid eviction.
The proposed budget also doesn’t include resources to address the fallout expected from a 40 year high rent increase of almost 9% in rent-stabilized housing.
There are also drastic proposed cuts to services for people who are experiencing homeless or poverty with a $35 million budget cut to the Department of Human Services this fiscal year and $57 million cut next fiscal year.
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