A tenant misses a rent payment, a landlord files for eviction, and a debt that might have been manageable grows into thousands of dollars while both parties wait months for their court date. Across the District, the delays are squeezing financially vulnerable families, draining affordable housing properties of operating revenue and threatening to push some buildings toward foreclosure.
“In order to protect and expand access to safe and affordable housing for District residents, we must address the challenges that historically high levels of rent arrears and nonpayment of rent pose to our housing market,” Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb said.
Schwalb is urging the D.C. Council to strengthen the Shared Housing Agreements and Resolution Effort Act, or SHARE Act, which would establish an early mediation program for eviction cases involving unpaid rent. His office wants to expand the legislation to serve at least 5,000 cases annually, with legal assistance for tenants and safeguards against additional court delays.
“Eviction proceedings have slowed considerably since the pandemic, leaving landlords without rental income and tenants facing debts that become increasingly difficult to repay,” Beth Mellen, senior counsel for housing protection and affordability in the Office of the Attorney General, told Council members.
Before the pandemic, an initial eviction hearing generally occurred approximately 30 days after a complaint was filed. Today, officials noted that landlords and tenants can wait 90 days for that first appearance. Follow-up hearings that once took two or three weeks to schedule can now take another two or three months.
For a family already struggling with rent, those months can turn a temporary financial emergency into losing a home. Even tenants who eventually negotiate repayment agreements may find their accumulated balances impossible to satisfy.
Mellen described equally troubling conditions among affordable housing providers, some of which collect only 70% to 80% of the rent owed. With substantial portions of their expected revenue missing, property owners face mounting difficulty paying mortgages, maintaining buildings, and financing necessary improvements.
Foreclosure or bankruptcy could have another damaging consequence because properties subject to affordability agreements may lose those protections, allowing units previously reserved for lower-income residents to disappear from the District’s affordable housing inventory.
Schwalb’s office noted that the courts face financial troubles of their own. Federal funding for D.C. Courts has remained unchanged for four years despite rising expenses, and the proposed federal fiscal 2027 budget includes a 13% reduction. The OAG said it supports additional federal funding for judges and staff to help Superior Court manage its crowded Landlord and Tenant Branch.
Notably, fewer than 1% of eviction cases went to trial in 2025, although settlements frequently occurred months after the original filings.
The SHARE Act would introduce mediation between the filing of an eviction complaint and the initial hearing, allowing landlords and tenants to negotiate before additional unpaid rent accumulates.
Schwalb wants the council to remove procedural obstacles that could prolong cases, finance housing counseling and legal representation for tenants, and raise the proposed annual participation limit from 2,000 to at least 5,000 cases. The District files approximately 15,000 cases of eviction each year.
The recommendations grew out of discussions with landlords, tenant organizers, attorneys, judges, and housing advocates. Mellen also facilitates Housing Unity DC’s Nonpayment of Rent Working Group, which has examined ways to shorten proceedings while protecting residents and financially struggling housing providers.
“The SHARE Act is a meaningful step in the right direction,” Schwalb said. “These amendments are based on extensive conversations with both landlords and tenants and will help resolve eviction cases more quickly.”
