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On June 26th, DC City Council unanimously passed the Eviction Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2018, paving the way for much-needed reform to the eviction process and creating a more dignified process for some of our city’s most vulnerable residents. Under the old process, an evicted tenant’s belongings are set out on the curb, and are usually lost or stolen before a tenant can collect them.

Under the new law – drafted with cooperation from representatives of large housing providers – landlords will be required to instead move tenants’ belongings to storage and prepay the storage cost for 30 days. This will allow tenants who have lost their homes to retain their belongings and giving them time to stabilize their housing and/or assume payment for their stored belongings.  

Last week, the chairman of the council scrapped that bill and introduced his own legislation that would only require a landlord to store the tenant’s belongings for 48 hours.  

We’re asking Councilmembers to VOTE NO on the new legislation introduced by the Chairman.

Evictions have  devastating effects on families. Giving tenants a 30 day cushion to find some stability while their belongings were in storage could make this already catastrophic process a little more humane.

But we need your help! Please contact your Councilmember and urge them to VOTE NO on this legislation.

Below, you’ll find contact information for every member of the Council and a sample letter you can use.

Dear Councilmember:

I’m writing to ask you to vote NO on the Evictions with Dignity Act.   The Eviction Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2018, passed unanimously on June 26th, paved the way for much-needed reform to the eviction process and created a more dignified process for some of our city’s most vulnerable residents. Walking back that reform would strip tenants of the new protections already unanimously approved by Council  and further harming residents living with poverty. ​

The vast majority of tenants who are being evicted are district residents of color with limited income. The sad reality is that when a tenant is evicted they lose the sum total of their assets, both monetary and sentimental. TO BE CLEAR: EVICTION IS CATASTROPHIC and the supports for those who are threatened with eviction are not sufficient to meet the need.

• Access to ERAP is very limited and even if tenants can get an appointment, the ERAP providers take longer than 14 days to process assistance
• Even if a tenant has a lawyer, many tenants cannot save their apartments because they can’t afford rents that continue to rise
• If a family is evicted, the shelter alternatives are neither humane nor readily available
• Health, jobs, school, and personal relationships are all harmed when a family is evicted​
• Landlords hesitate to rent to those with eviction records, resulting in further housing instability
• Children may need​ to switch schools after an eviction, resulting in slips in education gains
• Bonds with neighbors and neighborhood support systems are lost when a family loses their homeThe off-site storage requirements proposed by advocates are consistent with practices in other large metropolitan areas and would create one of the most humane eviction processes in the country. Given the devastating effects of an eviction, requiring a landlord to store a tenant’s belongings for 30 days is minuscule compared to the plight suffered by an evicted family.
  ​We expect more from a city council that is compassionate and claims to care about the city’s most vulnerable residents who are merely asking for a small cushion after such a devastating life event.Sincerely,
  [Your name]