A bill that would make substantial changes to the way eviction cases are handled in D.C. — the city with the highest level of unpaid rent in the country — is heading to the mayor’s desk.
The D.C. Council on Tuesday passed the Emergency Rental Assistance Reform Amendment Act of 2025 with its second and final vote. The bill is designed to speed up the eviction of nonpaying tenants while ensuring those who are eligible for rental assistance can obtain it.
Bowser said in a letter to the council Tuesday morning that the updated bill “reflects a more balanced approach” and is in line with the version she introduced as part of her RENTAL Act proposal in February.
The rental assistance reform bill is a permanent version of the emergency measure the council passed Oct. 1. That temporary legislation came in response to rising levels of unpaid rent that have threatened to put housing providers out of business, put properties into foreclosure and strip affordable housing units of their covenants.
D.C. apartments have an average of $2,207 in rental arrearages, by far the highest in the nation, and the total amount of unpaid rent in the city has risen from $11M in 2020 to $147M this year, according to a Committee on Human Services report accompanying the bill.
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