We are honored that our President and CEO, Tonia Wellons, was invited to participate in the Saving DC’s Rental Housing Market Strike Force convened by Mayor Bowser to develop balanced solutions to address the current rental housing crisis. We recognize the crisis that is facing our community and the need for an expedited process to identify a set of recommendations to resolve the immediate and urgent issues facing renters and landlords.
While we support many of the short-term recommendations to prevent evictions and ensure tenants can remain stably housed, we are concerned that many of the recommendations also focus on longer term issues and address some of the most important tenant protections in the city like TOPA and rent control. We believe these recommendations can be used as a starting point for further conversation. However, we feel strongly that these matters deserve more deliberation from a diverse and varied group of stakeholders that includes substantial representation from renters, advocates, and those most affected by any proposed policy changes.
The pandemic and economic crisis have made it crystal clear that stable, affordable housing is the foundation of healthy communities. Now is the time to take bold action to alleviate the suffering and address the economic damage caused by the pandemic -- and to ensure that everyone has safe, stable housing they can afford. Part of that is prioritizing investments and policies to preserve and create PSH and 0-30 MFI housing, including public housing. It also means continuing to examine the systems that have created our current housing crisis. We are committed to being a part of the solution and look forward to continuing these conversations.