(a) If the District, or an assignee, purchases a housing accommodation pursuant to this subchapter, the District shall remain subject to all provisions of this chapter as owner of the housing accommodation.
(b)(1) The Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor, shall maintain affordable rents in the housing accommodation so that unit rents for tenants living in the housing accommodation on the date that the offer of sale was issued will not be greater than the unit rent on the date of the offer of sale or 30% of an existing tenant's household income, whichever is less.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, household income shall be calculated pursuant to 24 C.F.R. § 5.609.
(3) Tenants shall be notified in writing as to the manner in which the Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor, calculates household income and rent.
(4) The Rent Administrator shall consider a challenge to a rent amount or income calculation upon a petition filed by a tenant. The petition shall be heard and determined according to the procedures in the Rent Stabilization Program established pursuant to subchapter II of Chapter 35 of this title.
(5) Notwithstanding the rent amounts established pursuant to this section, nor any other law, no tenant in an affordable unit shall be required to pay a rent increase of more than 10% per year.
(6) Income restrictions may be imposed upon the housing accommodation by the Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor; provided, that an existing tenant shall be exempt from any income restrictions.
(c)(1) The Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor, shall maintain any unit in the housing accommodation that was an affordable unit, as defined in § 42-3404.32(c)(2), on the date that the offer of sale was issued as affordable for as long as the housing accommodation remains a housing accommodation owned by the District.
(2) For any rental unit that becomes vacant:
(A) If the monthly rent, including utilities, paid by the tenant was equal to or less than 30% of the monthly income of a household with an income of 60% of the area median income, as set forth in the periodic calculation provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, adjusted for the household size, that unit shall remain affordable for a tenant with an income at or below 60% of the area median income; or
(B) If the monthly rent, including utilities, paid by the tenant was equal to or less than 30% of the monthly income of a household with an income of 30% of the area median income, as set forth in the periodic calculation provided by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, adjusted for the household size, that unit shall remain affordable for a tenant with an income at or below 30% of the area median income.
(3) Vacancies in affordable units shall be filled and maintained so that the division of affordable units in the housing accommodation is no less than one-third affordable for households at 30% of area median income, one-third affordable for households at 60% of area median income, and one-third affordable for households at 80% of area median income.
(d) If any unit in the housing accommodation was not an affordable unit as defined in § 42-3404.32(c)(2), on the date the offer of sale was issued, the Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor, shall develop an affordability plan to explore all means whereby the number of affordable units in the housing accommodation may be increased. The Mayor, or an assignee of the Mayor, shall take all practicable steps to increase the number of affordable units in the housing accommodation.
CREDIT(S)
(Sept. 10, 1980, D.C. Law 3-86, § 433, as added Dec. 24, 2008, D.C. Law 17-286, § 2, 55 DCR 11989.)
HISTORICAL AND STATUTORY NOTES
Legislative History of Laws
For Law 17-286, see notes following § 42-3404.31.