OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS
CHAIR, COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATION
THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING
1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, DC 20004
October 22, 2021
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I am filing the Rental Housing Commission Fair Opportunity for Appeal Amendment Act
of 2021. This bill would amend the Rental Housing Act of 1985 by increasing the time that parties
would have to appeal a final decision of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative
Hearings (OAH) to the Rental Housing Commission.
Parties would have 30 days to prepare and file an appeal to the RHC instead of the current 10 days.
This change will make the appeals process consistent with industry standard, including the 30-day
appeal deadline imposed by the DC Court of Appeals. Additionally, the proposed legislation would
change the RHC deadline to issue decisions for appeals from 30 to 120 days. In sum, the proposed
legislation provides litigants with a reasonable amount of time to consider whether they want to
appeal a matter, additional time to consult an attorney or other representative, and expands RHCs
timeline to review pertinent information to issue decisions on appeal.
The proposed legislation also includes an additional subsection, namely subsection (h-1) which
promotes mediation. Mediation can help parties to a dispute resolve issues without clogging the
judicial arteries. Without having so many claims resolved only in court, the legislative aim is a more
efficient adjudicative process where the Rental Housing Commission may process claims more
quickly and thoroughly.
Sincerely,
Anita Bonds, At-Large Councilmember
Council of the District of Columbia
 1
2 Councilmember Anita Bonds
3
4
5 A BILL
6
7 ___________
8
9
10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
11
12 ______________________
13
14
15 To amend the Rental Housing Act of 1985 to reflect changes in jurisdiction over administrative
16 hearings, to increase the time in which parties aggrieved by final decisions of the Rent
17 Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings in contested cases may prepare and
18 file an appeal to the Rental Housing Commission, to expedite the processing and improve
19 the content of administrative records, to provide parties before the Rental Housing
20 Commission sufficient time to brief arguments on appeal, to provide the Rental Housing
21 Commission sufficient time to afford due consideration to the issues on appeal, and to
22 provide greater opportunity for mediation and settlement of disputes.
23
24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
25 act may be cited as the Rental Housing Commission Fair Opportunity for Appeal Amendment
26 Act of 2021.
27 Sec. 2. Section 216 of The Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective July 17, 1985 (D.C.
28 Law 6-10; D.C. Official Code 42-3502.16(h)), is amended as follows:
29 (a) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows:
30 (h) Decisions of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings
31 shall be made on the record relating to any petition filed pursuant to this act. An appeal from any
32 decision of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings arising under this act
33 may be taken by an aggrieved party to the Rental Housing Commission within 30 days after the
34 decision is issued, or the Rental Housing Commission may review a decision on its own
1 initiative. The Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings shall transmit the
2 complete, official record of the proceeding, including transcripts of any hearings, to the Rental
3 Housing Commission within 30 days of receiving notice that an appeal has been filed. The
4 Rental Housing Commission may reverse, in whole or in part, any decision that it finds to be
5 arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with the provisions of this act, or
6 unsupported by substantial evidence on the record of the proceedings, or it may affirm, in whole
7 or in part, the decision. The Rental Housing Commission shall issue a decision with respect to an
8 appeal within 120 days after the appeal is submitted for consideration..
9 (b) A new subsection (h-1) is added to read as follows:
10 (h-1) While a petition filed under this section is pending before the Rent
11 Administrator or the Rental Housing Commission, the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing
12 Commission, respectively, may order the petitioner(s) and respondent(s) to attend mediation, to
13 be facilitated by that office, for the purposes of reaching a mutually agreeable settlement of any
14 or all issues relevant to the petition and may impose appropriate sanctions on any party that fails
15 to appear for mediation as ordered..
16 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
17 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
18 impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,
19 approved December 23, 1974 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(3)).
20 Sec. 4. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of a veto by
22 the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review
23 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
1 23, 1974 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
2 Columbia Register
3
 1
2 Councilmember Anita Bonds
3
4
5 A BILL
6
7 ___________
8
9
10 IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
11
12 ______________________
13
14
15 To amend the Rental Housing Act of 1985 to reflect changes in jurisdiction over administrative
16 hearings, to increase the time in which parties aggrieved by final decisions of the Rent
17 Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings in contested cases may prepare and
18 file an appeal to the Rental Housing Commission, to expedite the processing and improve
19 the content of administrative records, to provide parties before the Rental Housing
20 Commission sufficient time to brief arguments on appeal, to provide the Rental Housing
21 Commission sufficient time to afford due consideration to the issues on appeal, and to
22 provide greater opportunity for mediation and settlement of disputes.
23
24 BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
25 act may be cited as the Rental Housing Commission Fair Opportunity for Appeal Amendment
26 Act of 2021.
27 Sec. 2. Section 216 of The Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective July 17, 1985 (D.C.
28 Law 6-10; D.C. Official Code 42-3502.16(h)), is amended as follows:
29 (a) Subsection (h) is amended to read as follows:
30 (h) Decisions of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings
31 shall be made on the record relating to any petition filed pursuant to this act. An appeal from any
32 decision of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings arising under this act
33 may be taken by an aggrieved party to the Rental Housing Commission within 30 days after the
34 decision is issued, or the Rental Housing Commission may review a decision on its own
1 initiative. The Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings shall transmit the
2 complete, official record of the proceeding, including transcripts of any hearings, to the Rental
3 Housing Commission within 30 days of receiving notice that an appeal has been filed. The
4 Rental Housing Commission may reverse, in whole or in part, any decision that it finds to be
5 arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with the provisions of this act, or
6 unsupported by substantial evidence on the record of the proceedings, or it may affirm, in whole
7 or in part, the decision. The Rental Housing Commission shall issue a decision with respect to an
8 appeal within 120 days after the appeal is submitted for consideration..
9 (b) A new subsection (h-1) is added to read as follows:
10 (h-1) While a petition filed under this section is pending before the Rent
11 Administrator or the Rental Housing Commission, the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing
12 Commission, respectively, may order the petitioner(s) and respondent(s) to attend mediation, to
13 be facilitated by that office, for the purposes of reaching a mutually agreeable settlement of any
14 or all issues relevant to the petition and may impose appropriate sanctions on any party that fails
15 to appear for mediation as ordered..
16 Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement.
17 The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal
18 impact statement required by section 602(c)(3) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act,
19 approved December 23, 1974 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(3)).
20 Sec. 4. Effective date.
21 This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of a veto by
22 the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review
23 as provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December
1 23, 1974 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
2 Columbia Register
3