At-Large Councilmember Robert White

@robertwhitedc.bsky.social

1450 Followers 147 Following

Councilmember | #Housing Committee Chair | Husband and #GirlDad | Fighting to make life better for all DC neighbors https://linktr.ee/councilmember_robertwhite

  COUNCILMEMBER ROBERT WHITE AND ATTORNEY GENERAL BRIAN SCHWALB INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO PROTECT TENANTS LIVING IN DANGEROUS HOUSING   STRONG Homes Amendment Act gives the District faster, stronger tools to intervene when landlords allow conditions to spiral into crisis   WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Councilmember Robert White, alongside Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, introduced the STRONG Homes Amendment Act of 2025, legislation designed to close long-standing loopholes that let the worst landlords delay repairs while tenants live with collapsing ceilings, hazardous mold, broken heat, rodent infestations, and other dangerous conditions.   “Too many families in our city are still boiling water on stoves for heat, sleeping under tarps because the roof leaks every time it rains, or putting their kids to bed in rooms filled with mold,” said Councilmember Robert White. “This bill gives us the tools to step in faster, cut through delay tactics, and force action when landlords fail to meet even the most basic standards of safety and dignity.”   For years, the District has relied on the Tenant Receivership Act, a law that allows the Court to appoint a neutral third party to take temporary control of a severely neglected property. Receivers are empowered to assess repairs, collect rent, and make sure critical work gets done. But gaps in the law including limits on how funds can be used, weak consequences for delay tactics, and uncertainty around what happens after a property is sold have allowed some of the city’s worst conditions to drag on for months or even years.   These failures were made painfully clear during Councilmember White’s From Neglect to Respect: Housing Conditions Roundtable, where residents described ceilings collapsing on children’s beds, mushrooms growing from walls, broken boilers in the middle of winter, raw sewage backing up into apartments, and landlords who simply stopped responding.