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Residents and advocates recount landlords' resistance and communication gaps in lease‑up process
Summary
Multiple voucher holders and legal advocates told the council about landlord discrimination, repeated rejections, and agency non‑response that left clients at risk; advocates urged clearer communication channels and emergency fast‑tracking for safety cases.
Several voucher holders and legal advocates described how administrative delays combine with landlord resistance to block timely housing. Deondra Johnson said she repeatedly encountered landlords requiring unusually high credit scores or unnecessary residency checks and described poor response from housing specialists: “D.C. Housing Authority... they don't respond to nothing... the specialists down to the supervisors. They are very unprofessional, and it's tiresome.”
Legal providers urged three immediate steps: publish clear instructions and average timelines for each application stage, strengthen internal coordination and escalation within DCHA, and pilot expedited procedures for safety‑critical cases (domestic violence survivors, people sleeping outdoors, medically fragile tenants). Committee members asked agencies to work with providers to identify cases for expedited handling and to ensure case managers and locators have the capacity to assist clients who lack access to online tools.
