MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
April 23, 2024
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Chairman Mendelson:
Enclosed for consideration and approval by the Council of the District of Columbia, pursuant to
section 31 of the Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005, effective October 22, 2005 (D.C. Law
16-35; D.C. Official Code § 4-756.02), is the “Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program Rules
Approval Resolution of 2024”.
The resolution would approve rules that establish requirements and procedures for the District’s
Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program (“DC Flex Program”), which is a time-limited financial
assistance pilot program that provides up to a five (5)-year benefit to eligible households to
support their ability to pay monthly rental expenses, especially during periods of income
volatility, to promote long-term housing stability. Among other changes, these updated rules
authorize the Department to operate the DC Flex Program for adult-only households in addition
to the family households (adults with dependent children) that are authorized under the existing
rules. The updated rules also further expand eligibility by reducing the minimum age for a
Program applicant from twenty-one (21) to eighteen (18) years.
I urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on this proposed resolution.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Enclosures
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3 ~ on
4 at the request of the Mayor
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8 A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
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12 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
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16 To approve proposed rules to implement the Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program.
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18 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
19 resolution may be cited as the "Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program Rules Approval Resolution
20 of 2024".
21 Sec. 2. Pursuant to section 31 of the Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005, effective
22 October 21, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-35; D.C. Official Code § 4-756.02), the Council approves the
23 proposed final rules of the Director of the Department of Human Services to amend Chapter 79
24 (Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program) of Title 29 (Public Welfare) of the District of Columbia
25 Municipal Regulations, regarding the implementation of the Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot
26 Program, which were transmitted to the Council by the Mayor on -----------.
27 Sec. 3. Transmittal.
28 The Council shall transmit a copy of this resolution, upon its adoption, to the Mayor, the
29 Director of the Department of Human Services, and the Administrator of the Office of
30 Documents and Administrative Issuances.
31 Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement.
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32 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
33 impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975,
34 approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a).
35 Sec. 5. Effective date.
36 This resolution shall take effect immediately.
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 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING
The Director of the Department of Human Services (“Department”), pursuant to the authority set
forth in Sections 31 and 31c of the Homeless Services Reform Act of 2005 (“HSRA” or “Act”),
effective October 22, 2005 (D.C. Law 16-35; D.C. Official Code §§ 4-756.02 and 4-756.05), and
Mayor’s Order 2006-20, dated February 13, 2006, gives notice of the adoption of the following
amendments to Chapter 79 (Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program) of Title 29 (Public Welfare) of
the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
The purpose of these rules is to update the existing Chapter 79, which contains rules for the
Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program (“DC Flex Program”), which is a time-limited financial
assistance pilot program that provides up to a five (5)-year benefit to eligible households to support
their ability to pay monthly rental expenses, especially during periods of income volatility, to
promote long-term housing stability. Among other changes, these updated rules authorize the
Department to operate the DC Flex Program for adult-only households in addition to the family
households (adults with dependent children) that are authorized under the existing rules. The
updated rules also further expand eligibility by reducing the minimum age for a Program applicant
from twenty-one (21) to eighteen (18) years.
These rules were first published as emergency and proposed rules in the District of Columbia
Register on August 11, 2023, at 70 DCR 11018. The Department Director adopted the emergency
rules on August 1, 2023, and they became effective on that date. These rules are identical to the
emergency and proposed rulemaking, in response to which the District received no public
comments.
Further, in accordance with Section 31 of the HSRA (D.C. Official Code § 4-756.02), the proposed
final rules were submitted to the Council for a forty-five (45) day period of review and were
deemed approved on December __, 2023, pursuant to PR 25-____.
On December __, 2023, the Department Director adopted these rules as final, and the rules shall
become effective upon publication of this notice in the District of Columbia Register.
Chapter 79, FLEXIBLE RENT SUBSIDY PILOT PROGRAM, of Title 29, PUBLIC
WELFARE, of the DCMR, is amended as follows:
Section 7900, SCOPE, is amended as follows:
Subsections 7900.1, 7900.2, and 7900.3 are amended to read as follows:
7900.1 The purpose of the Flexible Rent Subsidy Pilot Program, which subsequently shall
be referred to as the DC Flex Program (and “Program” throughout this rule), is to
support households that are at risk of experiencing homelessness to achieve stability
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 in permanent housing. The Program provides time limited financial assistance for
up to a five (5) year period to each enrolled head of household in the instances
where there is a gap between the total monthly rent expenses and the household’s
funds available for rent. The time limited financial assistance is payable only to
the households, with the exception noted in § 7905.11(b).
7900.2 The Department shall be responsible for the implementation of this chapter, which
shall apply to all time-limited financial assistance provided through the Department
pursuant to the Program.
7900.3 The Pilot Program shall operate through September 30, 2026.
Section 7901, ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA, is amended to read as follows:
7901 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
7901.1 Only one person who is eighteen (18) years old or older at the time of application
per household is eligible to enroll his or her household in the Program. This person
shall be considered the head of household.
7901.2 A household may be a family household, comprising one or more adults with
dependent children, or it may be an individual adult household, comprising one
person who is eighteen (18) years old or older.
7901.3 To determine family household composition, the Department shall consider
individuals who live in the same physical housing unit as the applying head of
household, including:
(a) Persons related by blood or legal adoption with legal responsibility for
minor children in the household;
(b) Persons related by marriage or domestic partnership (as defined by section
2(4) of the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992, effective June 11,
1992 (D.C. Law 9-114; D.C. Official Code § 32-701(4)), including
stepchildren and unmarried parents of a common child who live together;
(c) Persons with a legal responsibility for an unrelated minor child or an
unrelated adult with a disability; and
(d) Any person not included by § 7901.2(a)-(c), regardless of blood
relationship, age, or marriage, whose history and statements reasonably
demonstrate that the individuals intend to remain together in the same
household.
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7901.4 An otherwise eligible person temporarily away from the housing unit due to
employment, school, hospitalization, incarceration, legal proceedings or vacation
shall be considered to be living in the household. A minor child who is away at
school is considered to be living in the household if he or she returns to the housing
unit on occasional weekends, holidays, school breaks, or during summer vacations.
7901.5 To establish initial eligibility for the Program, a household must:
(a) Reside in the District of Columbia, as defined by section 2(32) of the Act
(D.C. Official Code § 4-751.01(32)), at the time of application;
(b) Demonstrate risk of homelessness as evidenced by:
(1) Previous application for or participation in at least one government-
funded emergency or temporary housing or rental assistance
program administered by the District, including the Emergency
Rental Assistance Program, the Homelessness Prevention Program,
the Family Re-Housing and Stabilization Program, or other rapid re-
housing program, within the last 48 months; and
(2) Having a total annual income less than or equal to forty percent (40
%) of the Median Family Income for the District, which is a periodic
calculation provided by the United States Department of Housing
and Urban Development; and
(c) Be headed by a person that is eighteen (18) years old or older at the time of
application;
(d) Either:
(1) Have a current, valid lease agreement for a rental unit in the District,
or
(2) For an individual participating in a work bed shelter program,
commit to executing a valid lease agreement for a rental unit in the
District within sixty (60) days of accepting the conditional offer
described in § 7903.9; and
(e) For a family participant, have physical custody of one or more minor or
dependent children.
7901.6 The applicant may be enrolled in a government-funded rental assistance program
administered by the District at the time of application. However, if selected for the
Program, no household member may be enrolled in both the Program and another
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 on-going District or federal government-funded rental assistance program at the
same time. Participation in the Program shall not preclude receipt of shelter or
rental assistance after participation in the Program has ended.
Section 7902, HOUSEHOLD OUTREACH, is amended as follows:
Subsections 7902.1, 7902.2, and 7902.3 are amended to read as follows:
7902.1 The Department will conduct outreach to households with an estimated high
likelihood of meeting the eligibility criteria listed in § 7901, to inform these
households about the Program and to determine potentially eligible households’
interest in Program enrollment. When the number of eligible households is
expected to exceed available funding in a given year, the Department may identify
a priority population and target outreach to that population.
7902.2 Households that the Department informs about the Program shall be identified by
the Department through administrative data contained in applications completed by
households seeking or enrolled in government-funded housing or government-
funded emergency rental assistance programs administered by the District.
7902.3 The Department shall conduct outreach via the US Postal Service, telephone, email,
SMS text messages, or other communication means determined by the Department.
Section 7903, APPLICATION AND SELECTION PROCESS, is amended as follows:
Subsection 7903.3 is amended to read as follows:
7903.3 The Director of the Department shall determine the number of applications that will
be accepted for the Program, which is contingent on available funding. If at any
point the Department receives additional funding for the program, the Department
may reopen the application process at that time for new applications.
Subsection 7903.8 is amended to read as follows:
7903.8 After the lottery is completed, the Department will offer available Program slots to
households selected by the lottery. The Department will notify selected households
via the US Postal Service, telephone, email or another communication mode
determined by the Department. These Program slots shall be conditional, and shall
be official only after the household responds to the Department’s notice of the
conditional offer and successfully completes the Program eligibility process
described in § 7904. If a household fails to respond within the given timeframe, or
after verification the household does not meet eligibility requirements for the
Program, an additional household will be selected based on the method described
in § 7903.10, until all slots have been filled.
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Subsection 7903.12 is amended to read as follows:
7903.12 Any household that submits an application for Program enrollment but is not
enrolled as a result of the processes described in § 7903.5 – 7903.10 will receive
oral notice, as well as written notice via the U.S. Postal Service. Written notice shall
be one or more of the notices listed in § 7903.11, which shall, as applicable, include:
(a) A clear statement of the client’s application status, eligibility status, or
termination from the Program;
(b) A clear and detailed statement of the factual basis for the action described
in the notice, including the date or dates of relevant events;
(c) A reference to the statute or regulation pursuant to which the denial is being
implemented;
(d) A clear and complete statement of the client’s right to appeal the action
through fair hearing and administrative review proceedings pursuant to §
7910, including the appropriate deadlines for instituting the appeal or
reconsideration; and
(e) A statement of the client’s right, if any, to continuation of assistance
pending the outcome of any appeal, pursuant to § 7910.3.
Section 7904, ELIGBILITY VERIFICATION AND PROGRAM ENROLLMENT, is
amended as follows:
Subsection 7904.2 is amended to read as follows:
7904.2 The Department may verify eligibility criteria by obtaining relevant information
from government-funded emergency or temporary housing or rental assistance
programs administered by the District. Documentation that the Department shall
use to verify eligibility for the Program may include:
(a) Birth certificates;
(b) A District- or federal-issued identification described in section
2(32)(A)(iii)(III) or (VII) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 4-
751.01(32)(A)(iii)(III) and (VII));
(c) Child custody reports;
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 (d) Copy of a current, valid lease agreement specifying the landlord’s name and
contact information, and the head of household’s name;
(e) Pay stubs for the most immediate past two (2) months prior to Program
application;
(f) Benefit statements from any District or federal income support programs in
which the household is participating; and
(g) Earned Income Tax Credit filing for most immediate tax-year prior to
Program application.
Subsection 7904.9 is amended to read as follows:
7904.9 If a household successfully completes the application and eligibility verification
processes described in § 7903 and this section, the Department shall give to the
applicant, directly or through an authorized representative, a written notice entitled
“DC Flex Program: Notice of Enrollment in the Program”, as listed in §
7903.11(d), which shall state:
(a) That the applicant is determined eligible and is enrolled in the Program;
(c) That receipt of Program assistance is conditioned upon the head of
household’s participation in all required Program activities as may be
described in the Program Rules established in accordance with section 18
of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 4-754.32);
(d) The length of time for which the Program’s subsidy will be provided, per
the applicant’s successful compliance with the Program recertification
criteria set forth in § 7906; and
(e) Name and contact information for the Provider.
Subsection 7904.11 is amended to read as follows:
7904.11 At the discretion of the Director, a household may receive an extension on the
timeline described in the application and eligibility verification process
requirements described in § 7903.9, § 7903.10 or § 7904.7, for demonstrated good
cause. For the purposes of this subsection, “good cause” means:
(a) Serious illness or injury of household member or immediate family
member;
(b) Death of household member or immediate family member;
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 (c) Incarceration or detention of household member; or
(d) Other crisis, emergency, or unavoidable circumstances that prevented the
timely completion of the eligibility verification process.
Section 7905, PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION, is amended as follows:
Subsection 7905.1 is amended to read as follows:
7905.1 The Department shall issue a competitive grant solicitation to select a Provider for
the Program.
Subsection 7905.3 is amended to read as follows:
7905.3 The percentage of the annual allotment dedicated for the Provider’s