Committee on Housing advances FY2026 budget recommendations, approves staff appointments

Chair Robert White convened an additional meeting of the Committee on Housing on Tuesday, June 24, 2025, and the committee voted unanimously to approve its report and recommendations on the District’s fiscal year 2026 budget for agencies under the committee’s purview and to confirm a slate of staffing appointments.

The committee’s recommendations keep the Housing Production Trust Fund at $100,000,000, set a goal that 30% of those dollars be dedicated to preservation, restore $1,000,000 to the acquisition and critical repair fund, increase funding for the Home Purchase Assistance Program (HPAP) by $2,000,000, and add $200,000 to the Office of the Tenant Advocate’s emergency housing assistance program. Chair Robert White (council member at large and chair of the Committee on Housing) said the committee’s work was guided by three priorities: “to stabilize what’s working, fix what’s broken, and fund what matters most to residents, even within tight fiscal limits.”

Why it matters: The committee framed preservation as a cost-effective tool to prevent displacement and shorten timelines for delivering housing compared with new construction. White emphasized urgency, noting the age of much of the rental stock and arguing preservation can reduce displacement as development pressures rise.

Committee recommendations and oversight proposals

- Housing Production Trust Fund: The committee’s report maintains the mayor’s proposed $100…