By Grassroots DC, on October 31st, 2013 We are all aware that our city faces disheartening gentrification, and that many are priced out of their neighborhoods day in and day out. It is discouraging and ever more evident that so many regulations tip the scale towards higher end landlords and developers, putting their interests before tenants’. For exactly this reason though, tenants need to be aware of the rights and legal protections that they do have, especially in DC where in some ways these are more extensive than in many other places. Here are a few of your basic rights as a DC tenant.
 Potomac Gardens Tenants Organize Tenants have the right to organize.
In DC, tenants’ right to organize is protected under the law. This means that tenants cannot be stopped from meeting and discussing issues regarding their building and community, with or without any representative from management being present. Tenants can also distribute flyers and other literature on unit doors, as well as invite tenant organizers or other technical assistance providers into the building.
Tenants have the right to be heard in court before an eviction can occur.
While the anecdotes are often true about tenants coming home to find their landlord has changed the locks to their apartment, this scenario is actually completely illegal. You can only be put out through the eviction process, which means a landlord first needs to give the tenant summons with a date to appear in court. The most important thing to remember about this is to make sure you go to court and answer when your name is called. Once your case has been heard, a writ needs to be issued by the court before an eviction can occur. Only the US Marshals can legally put someone out during a 3 to 75 day window after a writ of eviction has been issued. Even when the Marshals are at your door, if you can pay the total amount you owe in full the eviction legally cannot proceed. If you are evicted by anyone other than the US Marshals do not hesitate to call the police and seek out legal help.
 Highland Dwellings Tenants Tenants do not have to sign a new lease.
This is a protection that tenants have specifically in DC. Even if your building is sold or foreclosed on, you are still bound by your original lease until and unless you decide to sign another. This is important, because it means that you cannot be forced into any terms that weren’t in place when you moved in. This also highlights that you should always ask for a copy and take your time to read any document you’re asked to sign, and seek out clarification with any part you don’t understand. The only changes to the terms of your tenancy should be the amount of rent that you pay. This can go up, but usually only once a year by rent-controlled, or government-limited, increases.
A landlord needs a legally valid reason to terminate someone’s tenancy. The sale or purchase of the building is not a valid reason.
Sadly, tenants will often leave their homes of 10, 20, or 50 years if asked to move when their landlord sells the building. Under DC law there are very specific and fairly few reasons that a tenant can be evicted other than violating lease clauses or not paying rent. For example, tenants from a single unit can be evicted if the landlord decides to make the apartment their primary residence (not a second home or a place for their friends or family). Tenants can also be given a six month notice to vacate if the building will no longer be used at all for residential purposes. But the sale or foreclosure of a property is not a valid reason for eviction. When a landlord buys or sells a property in DC, they do so with all tenants in place. Tenants in DC are also afforded the first right to buy their property when it is for sale, or can assign this right to any interested party that they choose.
Your building cannot be flipped into condos right out from under you.
Before the owner of a rental property may proceed to convert a building into condos, there must be a vote of all tenants that live at the property. If the majority of the tenants do not want the conversion to occur, units cannot be turned condo and the building stays rental. A landlord may offer buyouts for tenants to vacate the building and avoid having a vote, but no tenant is under any kind of obligation to accept, sign any agreement, or leave.
Tenants have the right to a safe, habitable home that meets Housing Code.
While this right sometimes gets into legal grey areas, tenants do have the undisputed right to the peaceful enjoyment of a safe, habitable home. Part of what this means is that problems considered to be housing code violations (leaky pipes or windows, water or heat that doesn’t rise past a certain temperature, and pests, to list just a few) legally have to be fixed by the landlord. There are many resources available and steps you can take towards getting these issues addressed. You should first contact your provided maintenance line to generate a work order number that tracks the problem. Make sure you have documentation of the conditions through photos, emails, or letters, and take note of each time that you have reported the issues. You can then also call for a city inspection with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, file a case in housing conditions court, or reach out to agencies in the city that offer tenants free counseling or legal services. Remember that any action taken against you by your housing provider in retaliation for pursuing your tenant rights is illegal and absolutely unacceptable. Take steps to get support to help you better understand and exercise your rights.
By Grassroots DC, on October 22nd, 2013 Reposted on behalf of Respect DC
provided by Andrea Rosen
 We remain disappointed and angry with Mayor Gray and Council Members Alexander, Bonds, Bowser, Catania, Cheh and Wells who made it clear that they are on the side of corporate greed and against the will of their constituents. Despite their inability to stand up to big, outside, corporations, we forced our elected officials to admit that $8.25 is not enough in DC. The rejection of the Large Retailer Accountability Act (LRAA) by a minority on the council and the Mayor was only the beginning of the fight for a living wage. We will not stop until all District workers are paid fairly.
“According to a Hart Research survey, 71 percent of DC residents were in favor of the LRAA. We have talked to thousands of District residents over the past several months, and the message we have heard is clear: We deserve better than the poverty wage jobs,” said Reverend Edwin Jones, Senior Pastor at Living Faith Baptist Church. ”Unfortunately, our Mayor and six of our Council Members disagree, and seem more interested in corporate money and attending ribbon cutting ceremonies, than in making sure DC residents have access to good jobs that will allow them to remain in an increasingly expensive city. DC residents know we are worth more and we will not stop until we get the wages we deserve.”
“Although the LRAA failed, we created an environment within the DC Council and the community in which the Mayor and three council members who voted with big business felt the need to attempt to cover up their abandonment of DC’s working families by introducing their own minimum wage proposals,” said Kimberly Mitchell, a lifelong Ward 7 resident and Macy’s employee. “Because of our work the living wage and minimum wage issues are at the forefront and our elected officials have finally been forced to pay attention to low wage workers. We will not let large corporations, working in conjunction with some of our elected officials, evict us from our city without a fight.”
“We will not allow the will of the people of the District to be manipulated by the same elected officials who just allowed large corporations like Walmart to bully them into submission,” said Reverend Graylan Hagler, Senior Pastor at Plymouth United Congregational Church of Christ. “This is one of the most expensive cities in America, and we need a minimum wage that reflects that reality. Because so many of our elected officials continue to fail on this issue, we will be developing a proposal that works for DC residents and we welcome all elected officials who stand with the people of this city to support us as we pass it into law.”
In addition, Respect DC has brought together a group of economic experts who are working to present options and arguments for the best possible minimum wage
proposal for our city. Council Members Marc Elrich in Montgomery County and Andrea Harrison in Prince George’s County along with DC City Council Chair Phil Mendelson seem to be coming together to push for a regional minimum wage of $11.50 an hour by 2016 and indexed to inflation after that. Their proposed legislation does not appear to include any increase for tipped workers. CLICK HERE to view what Elrich is proposing here.
By Grassroots DC, on October 17th, 2013 
Posted on Behalf of Empower DC
By Caroline, on October 16th, 2013 Tenant Associations are important community groups where residents of a property come together to address all kinds of issues relevant to the place they live. If united and strong, these groups can be instrumental in shaping the living environment of all residents. Here are five important reasons you should join or form tenant association where you live.
1. It’s a lot more fun (and probably much less time consuming) than you might think!
 In addition to meeting to discuss issues within the building, problems with management, leaky pipes, and what to do about neighbors’ pets who continually take care of business mid-sidewalk, many tenant associations also gather to organize block parties,bake sales, barbeques for residents of the building, and other social events. Joining your tenant association can be a great way to get to know your neighbors and have a little fun with them too! Also, most tenant associations only meet about once a month for an evening or a couple hours. It’s well worth it, and really doesn’t take up too much time.
2. Power in numbers
Often a negligent management company will suddenly come to attention when confronted by an articulate tenant organization. Legally there may not be much difference between Joe Shmo the Tenant asking the rental office for the fifth time to fix his leaky faucet, and the 100 Maple Street United Tenant Association urging management to see to it that the necessary repairs get made to bring the building into compliance with housing code before other legal recourse be taken, but logically the likelihood of a quick positive response is higher in the second scenario. Every tenant needs a landlord who respects their rights and person, and the voice we all have to demand this is stronger and more audible when we speak up together.
3. You can buy your building!
 In contrast to most other US cities, DC tenants are afforded the infamous TOPA rights, or the first right to buy their building under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act. This right kicks in at the sale of a rental building and each renter in the building should receive an Offer of Sale by certified mail. For many of us renting our homes an “offer of Sale” would seemingly merit an obvious No, and “I can’t afford to buy my building” or “I don’t want to get wrapped up in any of that”, but TOPA rights are worth a second look. First of all, in a tenant-run building, usually known as a limited equity cooperative, what tenants pay in “co op fees” can sometimes actually be lower than what a tenant may have paid as rent. In a building owned and managed by a for profit entity, a tenant’s rent not only goes toward maintenance, utilities, and other general expenses of the building, but it also goes toward any profit made off the property. When tenants run their own building they cut out the profit margin, and co op fees are often comparable to what they previously paid in rent.
Most importantly, even if the tenants of a building don’t have any interest in purchasing the building themselves, tenants’ right to purchase is assignable. This means that without showing a single shred of financial information tenants can put a hold on the sale for up to four months, negotiate during that time with any entity interested in purchasing the property, and assign their rights to purchase to whoever they chose and see most fit to be their future landlord. At the end of four months the deposit needs to be put down by whoever is interested in buying the building to be able to continue to negotiate. If not, the TOPA rights simply expire and the landlord can sell the building to whoever they had planned to start, with no skin off any tenants’ back.
4. Long term affordability and gentrification in your neighborhood.
Being a part of your tenant association not only allows you to be stronger in addressing your own and other tenants’ concerns within your building community. It also can give you the opportunity to impact the larger trends in your neighborhood and have a voice in the long term affordability of the neighborhood and city where you live. Through the tenant opportunity to purchase, but also by simply by being an active, vocal member of your building’s association, you can make your concerns about your community in 5, 10, 25 years down the line heard. Rent control in DC is a great example of this, since the protection of rent control, or the limitation on rent increases to a once-yearly, government regulated increase that applies to most rental properties can usually only be lifted from a building when 70 percent of the tenants sign a landlord’s petition, or voluntary agreement, allowing rent control to be taken away from their building. A strong, united, well informed tenant association in place helps all residents to understand this and similar processes and thus allows them to make informed choices on things that may affect the future of their building for a long time to come.
5. Community, community, community
 It’s what makes a house a home, and what can turn a living space into a warm, safe and welcoming environment. Tenant associations are a way for residents to show they care about the people and place where they live, and to invest a little time and energy in the future of whatever building, neighborhood, and city we call home.
By Grassroots DC, on September 26th, 2013
Tenant Summit 2013! A great opportunity to become acquainted with people and nonprofit organizations throughout the city that work with tenants and tenant groups on a number of issues providing legal advice, administering rental assistance programs, working to improve housing conditions, and otherwise seeking to prevent displacement in all of DC. Come to find out what services are available to you, and learn about your rights as a DC tenant! Free registration here.
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