FIGHTING ILLEGAL OR EXORBITANT RENT INCREASES

For years, Equity Residential overcharged tenants and broke DC rental housing law, which limits how much landlords of older buildings can raise rent each year. The Van Ness South Tenants Association has fought Equity over this practice for more than seven years, becoming a leader in this effort in the District of Columbia. VNSTA helped pass a law in 2019 that effectively put an end to this practice for most DC residents. However, Equity continues to pursue VNSTA president Harry Gural in court, claiming that he owes more than $30,000 more than the legal rent, which he has paid in full.

THE “RENT CONCESSION” SCAM

DC rental housing law limits annual rent increases for most residents to the rate of inflation plus two percent — capping increases at 10% even in years with high inflation. The law restricts annual rent increases for seniors (62+) and the disabled to inflation — capping them at 5%.

Equity Residential systematically circumvented DC law by advertising apartments for a competitive price, then tricking residents into signing a lease listing the rent as a much higher amount – e.g., $1,000 above the rent actually paid. Equity told new renters that this was required by DC rent control laws and that they would get a huge discount – a “concession” – that would lower the rent to the advertised amount.

A year later, residents were stunned when they received a form that appeared to come from the District of Columbia, telling them that their rent would increase (e.g.) by $1,000 per month plus the rate of inflation plus two percent. Of course, no tenant could afford a rent increase that large, so Equity offered another “concession,” but less than the year before. The actual rent increase would exceed the percentage allowed by law and tenants would be forced to sign another predatory lease. After a few years, the amount Equity overcharged its tenants could amount to hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The rent concession scam is explained in much more detail at Fair Rent DC.

TENANTS COME TO VNSTA FOR HELP

Dozens of distraught Van Ness residents came the tenants association for help fighting Equity’s demands. VNSTA complained repeatedly to Equity management about its blatant violation of the law; however, Equity refused to stop overcharging tenants. The tenants association petitioned the Bowser administration many times for help, wrote the mayor four letters and spoke to her in person three times, but she refused to take action.

VNSTA SEEKS HELP FROM THE DC ATTORNEY GENERAL

The tenants association complained about Equity Residential’s systematic violation of rental housing law to DC Attorney General Karl Racine. His office filed suit against Equity Residential on behalf of the Van Ness Tenants, alleging false advertising and violation of the rental housing code.

VNSTA BOARD MEMBER FILES A COMPLAINT

VNSTA board member Gabriel Fineman decided to test the legality of Equity’s claim that the legal definition of “rent” could be a figure far above the actual rent paid. He filed a complaint with the Office of Administrative Hearings, a lower court that has jurisdiction over and suppposedly expertise in housing issues. OAH ruled against Fineman, arguing that the “rent” could be an amount far higher than the actual rent paid and that it could be the basis for calculating an annual rent increased. However, Fineman appealed the decision to the Rental Housing Commission, which eventually overturned the OAH decision.

VNSTA PRESIDENT CHALLENGES EQUITY’S USE OF RENT “CONCESSIONS”

VNSTA president Harry Gural also challenge Equity Residential’s practice of using “concessions” to circumvent legal limits on annual rent increases. He refused to give in to the Equity’s demand that he choose between signing a new lease with a false amount list as the rent or paying a rent increase of $297 per month, far above the amount allowed by law. Equity filed suit against him in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of DC Superior Court, threatening eviction.

Gural counter-filed a complaint against Equity Residential in the Office of Administrative Hearings, claiming that Equity’s use of rent “concessions” violating rental housing law. He lost his case in OAH, with the judge failing to recognize the common English definition of the word “rent” and deciding that Equity Residential could raise the actual monthly rent paid more than percentage allowed by a simple reading of the law.

Gural later appealed the OAH decision to the Rental Housing Commission, which overturned the administrative court ruling. However, the case was remanded to the Office of Administrative Hearings for final adjudication. In the meantime, by December 2021, Gural has been forced to pay over $20,000 into escrow for his efforts to put an end to the practice of using rent “concessions” to circumvent legal limits on rent increases.

THE TENANTS ASSOCIATION HELPS PASS A LAW THAT HELPS STOP ILLEGAL RENT INCREASES

As these cases proceeded in court, the Van Ness South Tenants Association became involved in efforts by DC City Councilmember Anita Bonds and others to pass legislation that would affirm the simple English definition of the word “rent” in housing law, stating that rent it is the monthly amount that is actually paid for the use of a dwelling. After more than a year of work, the Rent Charged Definition Clarification Act was passed by the City Council and subsequently signed into law by Mayor Bowser in 2019.

A JUDGE ORDERS EQUITY TO PAY VAN NESS RESIDENTS $1 MILLION IN THE AG’S CASE

In September 2021, the DC Attorney General’s case against Equity Residential neared a final decision, with a Superior Court judge finding Equity guilty of false advertising and ordering it to pay approximately $1 million in restitution to Van Ness tenants. It is not yet clear whether either Equity or the Attorney General will appeal.

THE TENANTS ASSOCIATION IS THE MAJOR FORCE BEHIND ENDING ILLEGAL RENT INCREASES

Altogether, these legal actions helped put an end to Equity Residential’s use of rent “concessions” to circumvent legal limits on rent increases. This not only brought a Superior Court decision in the DC Attorney General’s case ordering Equity to pay Van Ness tenants approximately $1 million in restitution, it also forced Equity Residential to stop illegal rent increases in its other rent-stabilized properties in Washington, D.C. Moreover, the VNSTA’s efforts helped put an end to the use of rent “concessions” citywide, saving thousands of Washington residents an incalculable amount of money for years to come.