A letter to the editor: DC’s Office of the Tenant Advocate responds to our rent increase challenge piece

To the Editor:

I am writing on behalf of the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) regarding a DC rent control article in the April 24, 2017 edition (“High-Rise Life: 2017 rent increases, and what I did when my rent hike notice arrived early”). Several of your readers have asked the OTA whether it’s true – as the article suggested – that the landlord must wait until the lease’s “anniversary date” to increase the rent. The short answer is no, so long as at least 12 months have elapsed since the previous rent increase.

Here are the essential facts in the example set forth in the article:

Ever since the initial lease term expired decades ago, the tenancy has been month-to-month;

The tenant properly registered her elderly status (age 62 or over) with the Rent Administrator;

During rent control year 2016 (which began on May 1, 2016 and ended on April 30, 2017), no rent increase was permitted for tenants with elderly or disability status because the published rent control CPI was 0%;

The tenant received notice of a rent increase effective May 1st for rent control year 2017 (which began on May 1, 2017 and ends on April 30, 2018);

The previous rent increase took effect on a lease anniversary date, August 1, 2015 – 21 months before effective date of the proposed 2017 rent increase – and all other previous rent increases also took effect on August 1st;

The tenant challenged the 2017 rent increase in the belief that no rent increase is permissible until August 1, 2017 – the lease “anniversary date” – 24 months after the previous rent increase of August 1, 2015;

She won! The landlord withdrew the rent increase notice that had an effective date of May 1, 2017, and issued a new rent increase notice that has an effective date of August 1, 2017.

 
As a general premise, a tenant should challenge an unlawful rent increase, and may seek to negotiate a lawful rent increase. So, in this instance, did the tenant successfully challenge an unlawful rent increase, or successfully negotiate a lawful rent increase? Given the facts presented in the article, it is the latter. Here’s why:

There are two key restrictions on the timing of rent increases. Under the District’s rent control law, the landlord may not increase the rent (a) within 12 months of a previous rent increase (but the landlord may wait longer to increase the rent); or (b) during the initial lease term or any renewal lease term (which of course would also violate the rental agreement). Once the tenancy goes month-to-month, however, only the 12-month rule applies.

Does this mean, as one reader asked, that the landlord may “unilaterally” change the lease’s anniversary date? No. But the anniversary date is irrelevant to the timing of rent increases in a month-to-month tenancy, so long as the 12-month rule is satisfied. One exception to this general rule would be if the lease includes a (highly unusual) provision stating that any rent increase must occur on the anniversary date.

Contact the OTA at ota.dc.gov or 202-719-6560 if you have any questions, or in the event of a rent increase or other dispute with your landlord.

Sincerely,
Joel Cohn
Legislative Director
DC Office of the Tenant Advocate