D.C. Overpays Millions for Public Housing
The Washington D.C. Housing Authority is responsible for running public housing programs in the nation’s capital, but a recent investigation by The Washington Post found the Authority routinely paid above market rates for housing, with millions of dollars of overpayments.
The DCHA distributes over 15,000 housing vouchers per year, but soaring D.C. rent prices have led to a waitlist of over 30,000 residents seeking vouchers. Overpayments mean that there is less money available, and that money could have helped more people afford housing.
The administration is run by Brenda Donald, who dismissed a memo from her predecessor warning about this issue, and sided with landlords who were pushing to prevent lower payments.
The investigation tells many stories of individuals living in run-down housing for exorbitant prices. In one case, the DCHA paid $2,467 per month for a dilapidated apartment in an area where the median one-bedroom apartment price was $1,613. In another, DCHA was paying $2,467 per month while a nearby building was charging $1,900 for similar rooms.
According to the Post, the problem is landlords who have recognized and exploited the system, knowing that DCHA automatically pays the asking price without shopping around or requiring residents to find more affordable options. The result is overpriced, shoddy housing that lacks the amenities and social services that residents need.
The DCHA needs to immediately review its high voucher prices and negotiation policies, and end the exploitation of the system by landlords.
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