Testimony of Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation, and Charisse Lue, Attorney, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Since 1987, the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless has envisioned and worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia—where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive. Unfortunately, for many D.C. residents, housing opportunities seem to slip further away with each D.C. budget.

We are all aware of the economic challenges now facing the District of Columbia and nationwide.  However, D.C. residents are struggling with a pre-existing housing crisis. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of D.C. households are rent burdened by a local average rental cost that is over $1000.00 above the national median. Approximately 50,000 D.C. households spend more than half of their household income on rent.  The U.S. Marshall service reports that eviction filings are up two-hundred fifty percent (250%).  If these trends are permitted to continue, they will undoubtedly cause an avalanche of socio-economic devastation for D.C. residents. The D.C. council must use all the necessary tools to intervene.

 We are pleased to see that the mayor increased her Housing Production Trust Fund investment to $100 million in her FY26 budget proposal, after cutting it in FY25. We hope to see D.C. continue this commitment, and at a minimum, sustain this level of funding going forward. The Housing Production Trust Fund is the primary resource and a crucial toolkit for the creation and preservation of deeply affordable housing for extremely low-income residents. It must be used effectively.

In 2021, the Inspector General  detailed that $82 million of the HPTF money meant for 0-30% AMI was misspent. The report also indicated that DHCD could not assure that eighty-eight (88%) of the projects funded since HPTF’s creation (with approximately $795 million from the HPTF) were used for the production or preservation of affordable units, as required by the publicly funded loan agreements. This, of course, contributed to D.C.’s failure to meet the need.  Agency implementation failures impact lowest-income residents the most, often resulting in displacement and homelessness. Improved oversight and aggressive enforcement measures could have prevented such failures.

The HPTF legislation explicitly mandates that fifty percent (50%) of the annual funds are for the creation of deeply affordable housing; however annual utilization continues to fall short. In FY22, only twenty percent (20%) of HPTF expenditure was spent on the creation of deeply affordable housing units.  In FY 23  that statistic doubled to forty-three percent (43%). DHCD also projects that forty-four percent (44%) of the HPTF expenditures will be spent on the creation of affordable housing for those at 30% AMI in FY24. DHCD has yet to publish FY24 results. While this is an improvement, if it occurs, it still does not meet the legislative mandate. D.C. Council should protect and strengthen the strides it has made by maintaining project-based LRSP eligibility at 0-30% AMI. It must reject the RENTAL Act and the mayor’s LRSP subtitle that changes the eligibility for the Local Rent Supplement Program from 30% AMI to 50% AMI.  Raising the AMI level would only further incentivize developers, DHCD, and the mayor to dismiss housing production efforts for those who need deeply affordable housing the most.

The D.C. Council included the Housing Production Trust Fund Transparency Amendment Act in FY23’s Budget Support Act. However, additional transparency measures are necessary and should be incorporated into the legislation. The additional provisions should require DHCD to provide detailed post-completion reports on each project and publish the number of projects that have met the eligibility requirements. Additionally, the agency should include detailed data about each awardee and report the amount of the operating subsidy that is granted. Also, D.C. Council should separate the funds for the extremely low-income to avoid the misallocation of funds.  The D.C. Council must ensure LRSP funds appropriately match the HPTF operating funds for the creation of deeply affordable units. 

The creation of deeply affordable housing is more crucial for D.C. residents than it has ever been. We strongly urge the D.C. Council to require additional transparency and reporting measures; ensure LSRP funds are matched appropriately; especially for the 0-30% AMI households and create legislative safeguards that protect funds allocated for deeply affordable units.

Testimony of Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director, Systemic Advocacy and Litigation, and Charisse Lue, Attorney, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Since 1987 the Legal Clinic has worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia–where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources that they need to thrive.

The District of Columbia is currently facing unprecedented challenges; however, D.C. public housing residents have had to endure deplorable and dangerous conditions for decades, despite their longstanding advocacy for change. D.C. Housing Authority is now executing plans for a large-scale public housing demolition and renovation of many of its properties. We are pleased to see that the mayor has invested $52.4 million in public housing repairs in the FY26 Budget, but residents need more. We, along with our Fair Budget Coalition, ask D.C. Council to add to that investment for a recurring $60 million commitment to DCHA’s public housing preservation, renovation, and rehabilitation process. DCHA needs to dramatically improve operations, its delivery of services, and develop accountability mechanisms for the benefit of its residents.  The D.C. Council should also require DCHA to issue a quarterly report that demonstrates how these funds are utilized and how the funds result in positive outcomes for residents and to DCHA properties. It is also critical to the success of DCHA’s repositioning plan that the D.C. Council utilize its authority to codify residents’ right to return and reintroduce and passing the Public Housing Preservation and Tenant Protection Amendment Act of 2020 and includes its language in the BSA.

Additionally, to develop the agency that D.C. residents truly deserve, D.C. Council must develop a board structure that is focused on the agency’s mission and avoids undue mayoral influence and control. While the Board should have knowledge of affordable housing development, it must also prioritize a concern for and understanding of the people who actually live in the properties. It is crucial that the Board’s structure supports independent, critical, and transparent analysis in its decision making– especially when DCHA is conducting a massive redevelopment and rehabilitation process for multiple housing units that will impact thousands of D.C. residents and applicants. The Board must also include voting resident members, as resident expertise and direct decision-making authority is crucial for the success of DCHA overall and to achieve its reformative goals.  D.C.’s rental market is unique. UPO reported in 2022 that 44,000 D.C. households spend at least half of their income on rent. A March 2025 report showed D.C.’s average rent rose 3.3% since 2024 despite a downward trend nation-wide. Evictions rose to a 10-year high. It is more vital than ever that the D.C. Council makes safe, affordable housing a nonnegotiable priority.

 DCHA must aggressively lower its vacancy rate in its public housing properties.  D.C. Council also needs to fund a greater number and greater diversity of housing vouchers, especially since so many are losing vital resources. The Mayor’s proposed FY26 budget only makes a small investment in new Permanent Supportive Housing (PSH) vouchers administered by DHS. The mayor’s budget proposal neglects to invest in housing voucher resources for families and individuals that do not receive intensive services from DHS. We need voucher availability through Local Rent Supplement Program (LRSP) tenant vouchers directly from DCHA and DHS-based vouchers. Last budget season, D.C. Council funded some PSH and LRSP vouchers, but DHS’ lack of transparency reduced this number to less than D.C. Council intended. D.C. Council must fund more vouchers and make sure that agency misappropriation does not happen again.

 Additionally, the mayor has included major and harmful proposed changes to the HSRA in her Budget Support Act. In it, her administration attempts to restrict eligibility to shelter, remove the right of non-congregate shelter from families, and further eliminate rights to Rapid Re-Housing and other programs. These substantive changes are not germane to the budget. D.C. Council must reject and remove the entire subtitle from the Budget Support Act.

This is not the time for D.C. Council to abandon its values and fail to invest in its residents and the most fundamental of human needs: housing.  The WLCH is hopeful that the D.C. Council accepts our budgetary and policy recommendations and use its budgetary authority to ensure DCHA becomes an agency that D.C. residents can rely on to provide safe, healthy, and affordable housing for the most vulnerable.

Testimony of Charisse Lue, Attorney, and Brittany K. Ruffin, Director of Policy and Advocacy at The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Since 1987, the WLCH has envisioned and worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia—where housing is a human right and where every individual and family has equal access to the resources they need to thrive. Unfortunately, for many D.C. residents, basic survival is an overwhelming challenge.

The District of Columbia has a worsening affordable housing crisis. In 2024, homelessness in D.C. increased by fourteen percent (14%), including a dramatic thirty-nine percent (39%) increase in family homelessness since the previous year. The latest Housing Profile report from NLIHC shows that over 50,000 D.C. renters have extremely low incomes (0-30% AMI) and 75% of extremely low-income households are severely burdened with housing costs. There is no indication that these trends will reverse without aggressive intervention. It is as important as ever that the Housing Production Trust Fund is well funded, and its mission protected: to preserve and create affordable housing for D.C.’s most vulnerable households including and especially those that fall at and below 30% AMI. A fundamental contributor to homelessness and housing instability in D.C. is that there is a dearth of deeply affordable housing (housing for those at 0-30% AMI). Despite this, the funding of the creation of deeply affordable housing continues to fall short of the HPTF’s requirement that fifty percent (50%) of its funds be used for 0-30% AMI.

In FY 2021, only thirty percent (30%) of the funds were expended on the creation of deeply affordable housing units. In FY 2022, the percentage decreased to nineteen (19%). The FY 2023 HPTF Annual Report indicates that forty-three percent (43%) of HPTF funds were obligated to support deeply affordable housing, a substantial improvement from previous years and still not where it should be. However, the progress thus far is evidence of the impact of stronger oversight and increased agency intent.  Due to years of failing to prioritize the preservation and creation of deeply affordable housing, the need still far exceeds availability.  It is as crucial as ever that this Committee continues to use aggressive oversight measures to ensure that the HPTF is allocated as legally prescribed, adheres to its mission to prioritize preserving and creating affordable housing for the lowest income households, and is effectively used to combat the worsening crisis of affordability. 

In 2022, the Council passed the Housing Production Trust Fund Accountability and Transparency Amendment Act, to require additional and comprehensive reporting to Council, but data and reporting requirements should go further. Incorporating additional provisions from the previously introduced Housing Production Trust Fund Transparency Amendment Act of 2021 that require public transparency regarding project selection and completion would further increase accountability. While DHCD has made some progress on its general reporting, the annual reports fail to include and disaggregate key data. For instance, the annual reports fail to indicate the level of affordability for each project. This Committee and Council need to ensure that DHCD timely complies with all reporting mandates, including regularly updating quarterly reports on its website for public access. Currently, in 2025, the most recent quarterly report accessible to the public is from 2022. The Council should use its oversight powers to ensure that DHCD produces accurate reporting that disaggregates crucial data and increases transparency.  WLCH maintains its previous recommendation that, Council should also consider separating out half of the HPTF meant for extremely low-income housing to protect the investment, avoid further misallocation, and encourage greater accountability.  

The data is clear that a failure to prioritize the preservation and creation of deeply affordable housing is contributing to an increase in homelessness and displacement, particularly for Black D.C. residents who are the most impacted by homelessness and the largest racial wealth gap in the nation. D.C. Council can demonstrate its commitment to solving our affordable housing crisis by creating safeguards and enforcing those safeguards to ensure that the Housing Production Trust Fund is used as intended and as prescribed.

Testimony of Brittany K. Ruffin, Director of Policy and Advocacy, and Charisse Lue, Staff Attorney, The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless

Since 1987 the Legal Clinic has worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents of the District of Columbia–where housing is a human right and where every individual and family have equal access to the resources that they need to thrive. 

For decades, D.C. public housing residents have had to endure deplorable and dangerous conditions despite their longstanding advocacy for change. For several years, D.C. Housing Authority considered and is now executing plans for a large-scale public housing demolition and renovations for many of its properties. The new Executive Director has promised to release his administration’s “Recovery Plan” in May. We look forward to this administration’s layout of concerns and proposals to improve and preserve the affordable housing stock, including addressing the 1,878 units pending abatement, the more than 15,000 open work orders, and the redevelopment or replacement of thousands of units. 

Last year, the Mayor made a significant investment towards DCHA’s transformation. We are pleased to see that the Mayor has demonstrated a continued commitment to the rehabilitation process with the approximate $50 million investment included in FY 2025 proposed budget. We, along with our Fair Budget Coalition, ask the Council for a recurring $60 million commitment to DCHA’s renovation and rehabilitation process. However, the Council and DCHA have acknowledged that the agency needs to dramatically improve operations, its delivery of services and develop accountability mechanisms for the benefit of its residents. The Council should require DCHA to issue a quarterly report that demonstrates how these funds are utilized and how the funds result in positive outcomes for residents and to DCHA properties.

D.C.‘s affordable housing crisis continues to worsen.  Last year, there was no mayoral investment for housing vouchers. The Council’s investment for housing vouchers was minimal and only for permanent affordable housing vouchers . FY25’s proposed budget, again,  does not include funds for any  D.C. tenant-voucher program, leaving the thousands of homeless individuals and families without housing options.  Unsurprisingly, recent data indicates homelessness has increased by twelve percent (12%) in 2023 and 1 in 10 D.C. residents are housing insecure. These grim statistics overwhelmingly impact D.C.’s children; an estimated 1 in 5 experiences chronic housing instability.  A significant budgetary investment into all forms of permanent housing vouchers—LRSP tenant vouchers, PSH, and TAH– is fundamental to overcoming the threat of homelessness for so many.  Housing voucher variety in D.C. is critical, and residents need voucher availability through LRSP tenant vouchers directly from DCHA and DHS-based vouchers. Additionally, DCHA must aggressively lower its vacancy rate in its public housing properties. Aggressive Council oversight is needed to ensure that DHS and DCHA effectively connect homeless individuals and families to their vouchers and improve voucher utilization so that homelessness truly is rare, brief, and non-recurring.   

Now that DCHA has a new Executive Director and General Counsel, DCHA residents and advocates look forward to a more collaborative and transparent Housing Authority. However, to develop into the agency that D.C. residents truly deserve, the agency must have an independent Board of Commissioners with voting resident members.  D.C. Council must create a thoughtful framework to meet this necessary step once the current Stabilization and Reform Board expires. 

Apartments.com reports that D.C. rents are 48% higher than the national average and the U.S. Marshall Service reports that eviction filings are up 250%. Now is not the time to abandon the families and individuals that struggle the most to afford and secure housing. We strongly urge the Council to invest in the City’s housing voucher programs and to invest a recurring $60 million for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of DCHA properties. The Council must implement strong oversight measures to improve voucher utilization, ensure the preservation of affordable units, memorialize the right to return, and encourage the productive operation of DCHA through transparent accountability measures. Additionally, we ask that the Council assess the Mayor’s BSA proposal in D.C. Official Code § 6-227, Subtitle (II)(C) , the  Local Rent Supplement Program Accounts Amendment Act of 2024, and its potential impact on the funding and operations of the DCHA and the creation of affordable housing in D.C.