I heard back from Steve Schwat with UIP, the company that bought 3501 13th Street NW and sued the tenants to double their rent. If I’m understanding the math correctly, it will actually go up by more than that, and so far it seems the company has had little interaction with the tenants as a group.
At the bottom is a statement he sent me. He also explained the rent increases: basically rents for each tenant will go up by 20% a month, which he said is allowed by law. Schwat explained it as a $180 increase each month for someone currently paying $900 a month, or $2160 in one year. That actually seems like more than I expected.
At the bottom is Schwat’s statement. In response, I asked if he expected residents to remain as their rents are almost doubled, have they met with the residents before this filing, and what options are you offering them? Here are his responses to those questions:
We have not met with the Residents as a group yet. We have met with individual residents
Options are presented after we are contacting by the Tenants association if they have one or by a group of tenants. We like to work with an organized group.
It is not my decision as to whether Tenants stay or go. Our goal is to improve the housing so it is safe and clean and delivers a good quality of life in the building. Tenants can choose to stay or leave that is up to them.
And his email to me:
There is no “law suit”. A Capital Improvement Petition was filed with the city to request increased rents in consideration of significant improvements that the building requires. It is not a law suit.
UIP has a strong and repeated record of working with tenants in DC and helping them take advantage of their TOPA and other rights as DC residents. The Capital Improvement Petition is limited to a 20% increase on any rent amount. The amounts noted in the petition are based on an 8 year amortization. The actual length of time the improvements will be charged can increase so that the monthly increase does not exceed the 20% limit. When filing a CIP, the forms require an 8 year amort. and the rent administrator can increase that amount of time.
The building was purchased at foreclosure, the conditions in the building are terrible. Housing providers have an obligation to keep housing accommodations is good order; safe, clean, up to code. The previous owner did not do this. Now, we must. Part of the problem in keeping a property like this in good condition, is the substantially low rents in the property, due to many years of limited or zero rent growth and failure of previous owners to file for rent increases.
Our goal is to work with the tenants in the building, offering them numerous options. That is what UIP does and what we are known for. The CIP is a formality that makes clear to the city (and the public) that the property is, in fact, in need of significant improvements. We anticipate meeting with and working with the tenants at the property.
And on the subject on the rent increases, I was confused so we emailed a few times. He was quite responsive once he emailed back:
Schwat: “It would go up 180 a month assuming the rent is currently 900 a month
The maximum allowed increase under a CIP is 20% (per year or per month – it’s the same)”
Me: “Ok, gotcha. So for a person paying 900, it would go up to 1080 for a year, then 1260 the next year and so on?”
Schwat: “No. For a person Paying 900 a month their rent would go up by 180 a month or 2,160 a year”
And on the subject of lawsuit or not, to me it seems like semantics — one party has filed against another party, which must defend itself in front of a judge. That sounds like a lawsuit to me, even if it’s officially not one.
