DC Passes Rent Control Reform

DC Mayor Williams signed into law on Tuesday a revised rent control law, updating one of the more arcane systems of rent control in the nation. The law caps rent increases for covered properties at 2% plus CPI for occupied units and up to 5% for elderly and disabled tenants; rent increases for vacant units will be capped at 10% or to the price of a "substantially identical rental unit," not to exceed a 30% rise. The new system abolishes the complicated rent ceiling / rent ceiling adjustment factor that left many landlords and tenants unsure of the permissible rent. Councilmember Jim Graham, who sponsored the bill, estimated that the change will affect 100,000 apartments in the city. Bill 16-109, which goes into effect in 30 days, limits rent increases to once per year. View the full text of the bill.