Affordable Housing & Renter Protections
For decades, the decisions made by DC politicians have prioritized wealthy developers over the needs of working families. This city didn't get divided like this by accident. DC decision-makers and local boards have given big landlords a green light to ignore mold, leaks, and broken AC units while hiking up rents and hitting families with hidden junk fees. When city officials hand over public land to wealthy developers to build $3,000-a-month luxury apartments instead of homes teachers and city workers can actually afford, it is a direct betrayal of DC neighborhoods. My plan puts a stop to it and treats housing as a basic right.
The Plan
- Build 45,000 affordable homesBuild and preserve 45,000 homes by investing $200 million a year in housing bonds and updating zoning so more multi-family housing can be built in every neighborhood.
- Guarantee a Universal Right to Counsel so lower-income tenants have free, high-quality legal representation when facing unfair eviction in housing court.
- Hit predatory landlords in their pockets by freezing annual rent increases for properties with unresolved housing code or safety violations.
- Double the budget for the Office of the Tenant Advocate by freezing annual rent increases for properties with unresolved housing code or safety violations.
- Make big developers pay their fair share through a Mansion Tax on properties selling for over $2.5 million and a Land Value Tax on vacant or underused corporate-owned land.
- Keep public land in public hands by shifting to 99-year ground leases on all city-owned property, ensuring these new homes stay affordable for generations, not just a few years.