On Saturday, July 25th, rent striking tenants from more than a dozen buildings across the city will come together to call on the D.C. Council to cancel rent in DC.
The rally will be held in Columbia Heights Plaza at 5pm, and is being organized by the DC Tenants Union—a member-driven organization “with the purpose of combining direct action with political action to forge better living conditions through Washington, DC.”
The group has a list of 5 demands, the first and foremost being the cancellation of rent and mortgage payments for the duration of the state of emergency, plus one month.
“Washington, D.C. is facing an unprecedented economic crisis as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says the organization’s petition to the D.C. Council. “D.C.’s Chief Financial Officer has estimated that unemployment could reach 20%, bringing incalculable harm to D.C. residents. Just last week, a full 1% of the country applied for unemployment benefits. … These economic effects are turning out to be even worse than anticipated, and it is clear that the city needs to step up with a more ambitious effort to protect residents.”
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Aren’t evictions already banned during the emergency? The owner is certainly going to have to pay the mortgage, gas, electric, maintenance etc. bills. The people who signed a lease are going to have to make good on their commitment at some point. Be adults and work out payment terms.