COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

 

                     

TO:                       Nyasha Smith, Secretary of the Council

               

FROM:              Phil Mendelson, Chairman

                                                               

DATE:                July 5, 2018

 

                               

                I request that the following measure be placed on the agenda for the July 10, 2018 Additional Legislative Meeting:

 

• Eviction with Dignity Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2018
• Eviction with Dignity Emergency Amendment Act of 2018
• Eviction with Dignity Temporary Amendment Act of 2018

 

Effective July 9, 2018, the U.S. Marshals Service will change their eviction procedures. The most important change is that the Marshals will no longer directly supervise the removal of tenants’ personal belongings from the rental unit on the sidewalk or street as they have in the past. Instead, an evicted tenant’s possessions will remain locked in their former residence. This change of policy raises many questions as to the disposition of the tenant’s possessions, the rights of the tenant to their possessions, and the obligations and liabilities of the housing provider with respect to the evicted tenant’s possessions.

 

                On June 26, 2018, the Council approved an emergency bill (Bill 22-864) that addressed the Marshal’s policy change. However, new concerns from stakeholders have been raised. This emergency legislation seeks to address not only the impending new policy, but the new stakeholder concerns, while establishing a pared down process that strikes a balance between obligations of the housing providers and the rights of tenants to their personal property.