Article Vi. Central Data Collection, Rent Guidelines, and Rent Stabilization.

The County Executive must establish procedures to collect and analyze housing data for rental dwelling units in the County, and must make every effort to centralize the data collection functions to minimize the burden for landlords.

The reporting process is mandatory for landlords of licensed rental housing, including new dwelling units as they come on the market and all vacant units.

The data must be collected annually.

The Director must use a survey form for collecting data designed to minimize the repeated reporting of unchanged information, while maintaining an accurate data base.

The Director, at a minimum, must include in the survey a questionnaire for each landlord to certify whether the occupying tenant completed a criminal history and credit screening addendum as required under Section 29-28(h)(2). The survey form must request the date of the signed addendum.

The housing data collected must be used to measure the supply and availability of rental housing, as well as other operating characteristics. Each landlord must provide the following to the County:

Each landlord must maintain records for each project on an aggregate basis containing the following information, that must be made available to the County upon request:

Each landlord of a rental dwelling unit in a common ownership community must report to the governing body of the common ownership community the rental status of each unit owned by the landlord. Any status change must be reported to the governing body, or its delegated agent, within 10 days after the change.

The governing body of a common ownership community must file with the Department information provided by the landlord identifying each dwelling unit in the community that is rented by the owner to another person. The information must identify the unit and the name and address of the landlord to the extent that the landlord provides this information.

The Director is primarily responsible for controlling rental housing data surveys for the County. The Director must share this information with other governmental agencies that need it without invading individual privacy. In this regard, the Director must coordinate survey activities with other County departments, and make available to the departments the results of all surveys in accordance with applicable procedure.

The Director must publish, unless the publication is prohibited under State law, the information collected in the rental housing data survey on the County website, including a table listing all rental housing consisting of two or more dwelling units by unit type and building type.

Any landlord who violates any provision of this Section is liable for payment of a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each violation.

The County Executive must develop and operate a central referral service for the use of tenants, landlords, and government agencies. The operation of the referral service may be contracted to the Housing Opportunities Commission.

Housing information and referral services to be offered must include, but are not limited to:

In coordination with other public and private agencies, the Director must maintain a listing of the location and characteristics of vacant dwelling units, and their rent rates.

The County Executive must issue annual voluntary rent increase guidelines not later than March 1 of each year. The Executive must publish the guidelines in the County Register and on the County website.

The guidelines must be based on the increase or decrease in the residential rent component of the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) as published by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, or any successor index, for the preceding calendar year, unless an alternative standard better reflecting the costs of rental housing in the County is established by regulation.

The Department should encourage landlords to hold rent increases at the lowest level possible. The Department may review any rent increase that appears to be excessive and encourage the landlord to reduce, modify, or postpone the increase.

A landlord must not increase the rent until 90 days after the landlord gives the tenant written notice of the increase. A landlord must not impose more than one rent increase on a tenant in any 12-month period. Each written rent increase notice must contain the following information:

Written notice may be delivered to the tenant by any reasonable means. However, a notice has not been delivered unless the notice is mailed via the United States Postal Service to the tenant's dwelling unit, or unless a signed receipt is obtained from the tenant or the tenant's representative. If the tenant is notified by mail, other than registered or certified mail, the landlord must certify, by affidavit dated at the time of mailing, that the landlord has mailed the notice. The landlord must retain a copy of the affidavit in the landlord's records.

For the purposes of these notice requirements, the day after the postmark date is the date of delivery if the notice was delivered to the proper person by U.S. mail. If any notice is sent by U.S. certified or registered mail, the receipt or registration is presumptive evidence that the notice was delivered to the party to which addressed, and the date of the receipt or registration is the postmark date.

When the last day for performing any act prescribed under this Chapter falls on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the performance of that act is timely if it is performed on the next day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday.

Definitions. In this Section, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

Rent increases above guidelines – when prohibited. A landlord must not increase a tenant’s rent to an amount that exceeds the voluntary rent guidelines under Section 29-53 if:

Notices of rent adjustments.

Late fees – when prohibited. A landlord must not charge a fee to a tenant for the nonpayment or late payment of rent due during the emergency, or due between the expiration of the emergency and May 15, 2022, unless the landlord first provides to the tenant, in a form prescribed by the Director:

A landlord must waive late fees for the nonpayment or late payment of rent due during the emergency, or due between the expiration of the emergency and May 15, 2022, if a tenant attests, in the application prescribed by the Director under subsection (d), that the tenant:

A landlord must not require proof of, or challenge the veracity of, a tenant’s attestation under this Section.

Notice of expiration of emergency. The Department must post on its website information about the requirements of this Section, including the date that the emergency expired, and the date that requirements under this section expire.

offered by the landlord;

accepted by the tenant; and

itemized in the lease separate from the rent.

are intended to enhance the value of the building; and

cost an amount equal to at least 40 percent of the value of the building, as assessed by the State Department of Assessments and Taxation.

Annual rent increase allowance. The Director annually must calculate a rent increase allowance for regulated rental units equal to the lesser of:

Publication. The Director must publish the annual rent increase allowance in the County Register and on the County website.

Duration. A rent increase allowance under subsection (a) remains in effect for a 12-month period, beginning July 1st of each year and ending on June 30th of the following year.

In general. Except as provided under subsection (b), upon a lease renewal or new lease agreement, a landlord must not increase the rent of a regulated rental unit to an amount greater than:

Troubled or at-risk properties. Subject to Method (2) regulations adopted by the Director, a regulated unit located in a property designated by the Department as “troubled” or “at risk” under Section 29-22(b) must not increase rent in excess of an amount the Director determines necessary to cover costs required to improve habitability.

Rent increase – vacant unit. Subject to Method (2) regulations, the Director must determine the allowable annual rent increase for a regulated unit that returns to the market for rent after being vacant for more than 12 months with no active lease, either by a written or oral agreement.

Limited surcharge for capital improvements. Subject to subsection (e), the Director must grant a landlord’s petition to add a surcharge to the amount permitted under subsection (a) if, in accordance with Method (2) regulations, the Director determines:

Surcharge – additional requirements.

Fair return rent increase. In accordance with this Section and Method (2) regulations adopted by the Director:

For purposes of this Section, fair return means a return on investment:

The Director must adopt Method (2) regulations necessary to implement the requirements of this Section, including regulations to establish:

Exemptions. The requirements of Section 29-58 do not apply to:

Expiration of exemption. An exemption under subsection (a) expires when the conditions entitling the unit or facility to an exemption cease to exist.

Regulations. The Director must issue Method (2) regulations regarding limitations on fee increases or new fees charged by the landlord to the tenant for a regulated rental unit.

Fee schedule. At the discretion of the Director, a fee schedule may be included, as a part of the regulations.

In accordance with the requirements under Section 29-51, a landlord must comply with and submit data to the Department regarding regulated rental units, rents, fees charged to tenants, and notices of rent increases.

The annual rental housing survey data collected by the Department under Section 29-51 must be made available for the Council to review and determine the effectiveness and compliance with this Act.