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D.C. Council advances ERAP reform to tighten documentation, limit eviction delays to approved applications
Summary
The Council passed an amendment-in-the-nature-of-a-substitute to the Emergency Rental Assistance Program Reform Amendment Act of 2025 that narrows eviction rescheduling to cases with approved ERAP applications, clarifies required payment documentation, and allows judges discretion on rent-waiver defenses at motions as well as trial.
The Council of the District of Columbia on May 6 advanced legislation to revise the city’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), approving an amendment in the nature of a substitute that changes how courts and landlords handle ERAP-related eviction delays.
The amendment, moved by Councilmember Fruman, narrows the circumstances in which evictions may be rescheduled: only tenants with approved ERAP applications — not pending ones — can obtain stays tied to ERAP. The substitute also clarifies what payment documentation housing providers must give, limits how judges may apply the rent-waiver defense tied to ERAP compliance, and allows the defense to be raised on decisive motions that dispose of an entire eviction case as well as at trials.
Why it matters: Councilmember Fruman said the changes are meant to return ERAP to a narrowly targeted emergency program, make district dollars go farther, and…
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