The District is home to some of the highest housing costs and worst gentrification in the country. Despite this, DC’s rent control law has not been updated since the 1970s and no new buildings have been added to rent control for the past 30 years. Changing rent control is a crucial part of making DC more affordable.

Officially launched in 2019, the Reclaim Rent Control campaign is a mix of longtime DC tenants, new DC residents, housing advocates, legal service providers, tenant organizers, labor unions, political leaders, and many others living and working in all eight wards of the city. The campaign fight to make sure DC’s most vulnerable residents have the ability to survive and thrive here. The Reclaim Rent Control Coalition is a culmination of years of organizing in the District by tenants, organizers, community based groups, unions and legal advocates that have come together to form a united force against displacement.

As a result of this organizing Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and Councilmember Trayon White included rent control reauthorization in the Budget Support Act of 2020. This move extended current rent control laws without change — meaning unaffordable rent increases and displacement loopholes are still in place. Our work continues especially as we look ahead to the end of the eviction moratorium from COVID.

Written by Ina Padua