As the legislative session ends, the D.C. Council is set to continue pandemic-era rental and nutrition benefits for residents.

Two months after a HUD report severely criticized the D.C. Housing Authority, local leaders spoke about the future of the agency.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced a $10 million settlement with real estate companies that refused to rent to people with vouchers.

DCHA decided against a revised policy that landlords and advocates said would displace voucher holders. But the agency’s voucher rents are still a point of contention.

D.C.’s pro bono legal service providers have stopped two-thirds of evictions in D.C. with outreach and a centralized intake system.

Public housing residents elected Kenneth Council and Denise Blackson to the DCHA oversight board.

The tenants of Buena Vista Apartments are forming a cooperative — a win for the 21 residents who have been on rent strike since May 2020.

Street Sense Deputy Editor Gordon Chaffin shares his experience with the STAY DC emergency rent assistance program. He argues that D.C.’s program is failing by standing up too many hurdles for applicants to jump and shares quotes from local government officials who don’t seem to be following federal guidance for quick tenant help. Gordon asks everyone in D.C. struggling to pay back rent and utilities to apply at stay.dc.gov.

Evictions will start soon in D.C. But all is not lost. Tenants have a range of protections and resources available to help them navigate this process.

Amber W. Harding, an attorney for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless, shares opinions on what DC must do to confront upcoming housing crises as COVID programs expire.

The D.C. Council passed two emergency bills on July 13 that are intended to help alleviate economic hardships for District residents. The measures include an update to a 50-year-old debt collection law, and a compromised bill that in most cases delays any eviction proceedings until October. 

Professor Carolyn Gallaher writes on what the end of COVID-19 eviction bans means and how other programs could fill the gap for those in need of assistance.

Applicants to the District’s rental and utility assistance program said they haven’t received funding, confirmations, or updates months after requesting aid.

The DC Council has recently taken steps to establish a new plan for, and modifications to, the District Opportunity to Purchase Act (DOPA) to increase its utility and use.

The D.C. Department of Human Services recently announced $350 million in assistance remains for rent and utility assistance and has encouraged additional applications.

The D.C. Council voted down a controversial measure last week that would have allowed landlords to resume sending eviction notices during the pandemic, opting instead to revisit the proposal at a later date.

As legal proceedings shift online, many of the most vulnerable are left without the tools they need to show up in court. These problems, legal aid workers say, are affecting eviction hearings across the US.

Inconsistent communications from the DC Housing Authority and other agencies continues to harm the community’s trust in Barry Farm’s redevelopment.

A district court judge ruled against the CDC’s eviction moratorium, but the final outcome remains uncertain.

Tenants and housing advocates are using more confrontational tactics to fight eviction and displacement as the national affordable housing shortage intensifies.