I know how annoying it is that I always bang the drum of the shrinking tax base, but it really is the macro problem that parameterizes all the rest. The cases described herein could be ameliorated with money within the universe in which money is available. But we aren’t living in that universe. The obsession has to be with the kind of growth - including growth through development - that broadens the tax base and renders it more robust.
It strikes me as strange to urge a newly elected mayor to abandon the policy positions that she took on the Council and that fueled her election. But even if she wanted the kind of "reset" imagined here, the next mayor would quickly find that she cannot simply order the courts to stop having a backlog of nonpayment cases.
Achieving a functional rental housing market will require a long time and a lot of money. Even if all the nonpayment cases were immediately resolved in the landlord's favor, many rental properties would be burdened by the deferred maintenance--with high interest rates making it difficult to finance the repairs that will be needed to attract tenants who want to pay rent that is too damn high.
I hope future installments in this series will present a theory of getting out of the death spiral.
She has shown signs of moderating across a number of issues relative to the positions she had on the Council so I see no reason why she couldn't moderate here if she's serious about preserving our affordable housing stock. The Council is currently considering legislation that would require initial hearings in landlord/tenant to be held within 60 days so there are things the Council/Mayor can do. You're correct that she can't order Superior Court to change its policies but she could discuss the issue in a way that elevates it above where it is today in the discourse.
There are two issues here. 1) Policies make it hard to run affordable housing developments sustainably. 2) DC's overall weak rental market which is causing starts to collapse.
The first can be addressed directly with better housing policy. The second is really deeper. I know you mention NOVA but the rental market there is materially stronger and did not drop nearly as much in 2025 as DC proper did.
I know how annoying it is that I always bang the drum of the shrinking tax base, but it really is the macro problem that parameterizes all the rest. The cases described herein could be ameliorated with money within the universe in which money is available. But we aren’t living in that universe. The obsession has to be with the kind of growth - including growth through development - that broadens the tax base and renders it more robust.
It strikes me as strange to urge a newly elected mayor to abandon the policy positions that she took on the Council and that fueled her election. But even if she wanted the kind of "reset" imagined here, the next mayor would quickly find that she cannot simply order the courts to stop having a backlog of nonpayment cases.
Achieving a functional rental housing market will require a long time and a lot of money. Even if all the nonpayment cases were immediately resolved in the landlord's favor, many rental properties would be burdened by the deferred maintenance--with high interest rates making it difficult to finance the repairs that will be needed to attract tenants who want to pay rent that is too damn high.
I hope future installments in this series will present a theory of getting out of the death spiral.
She has shown signs of moderating across a number of issues relative to the positions she had on the Council so I see no reason why she couldn't moderate here if she's serious about preserving our affordable housing stock. The Council is currently considering legislation that would require initial hearings in landlord/tenant to be held within 60 days so there are things the Council/Mayor can do. You're correct that she can't order Superior Court to change its policies but she could discuss the issue in a way that elevates it above where it is today in the discourse.
There are two issues here. 1) Policies make it hard to run affordable housing developments sustainably. 2) DC's overall weak rental market which is causing starts to collapse.
The first can be addressed directly with better housing policy. The second is really deeper. I know you mention NOVA but the rental market there is materially stronger and did not drop nearly as much in 2025 as DC proper did.