Legal Aid DC Testimony - Housing Conditions - Improving Housing Conditions and Strengthening Landlord Accountability

Oct 28, 2026

Testimony by Omar Hashem, a Senior Investigator in Legal Aid DC’s Housing Law Unit, submitted to the Committee on Housing of the District of Columbia. The statement describes the real-world effects of uninhabitable housing conditions—mold, flooding damage, sewage-soaked carpets, pests, and broken heat—experienced by tenant clients during prolonged repair delays. It argues for stronger tenant involvement in the DOB abatement process and supports policy changes, including measures tied to LLC ownership transparency, to prevent landlord gaming and ensure timely, accountable remediation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time8 min

AccessFree to download

Testimony Overview

Tenant Impact and Inspection Experience

Need for More Tenant Involvement in the DOB Abatement Process

Giving the City Tools to Address Bad Actor Landlords

Support for the STRONG Homes Amendment Act

Identifying Natural Persons Behind LLCs

Conclusion

[www.legalaiddc.org](www.legalaiddc.org) 1331 H Street, NW Suite 350 Washington, DC 20005 (202) 628-1161 Testimony of Omar Hashem Senior Investigator, Housing Law Unit Legal Aid DC Before the Committee on Housing Council of the District of Columbia Public Hearing Roundtable Regarding: “Improving Housing Conditions and Strengthening Landlord Accountability in the District” October 1, 2026 Legal Aid DC1 submits the following testimony regarding the improvement of housing conditions and strengthening of landlord accountability in the District. As a Senior Housing Investigator, I have done over 300 home inspections in my time with Legal Aid DC. Each inspection represents a resident in our District. I feel privileged to be invited into people’s homes to witness firsthand the conditions some of our residents are forced to live with. Conditions such as warped wood from repeated flooding, soaked carpets from sewage, mold covering walls from floor to ceiling, rodents eating through children’s toys, and a family with a newborn baby huddled around a heater during DC’scoldest winter in the past decade. In that home, the building’s heat was out for three weeks. The family’s landlord told them it would take another month for the necessary part to come in to fix the heating. 1 Legal Aid DC is the oldest and largest general civil legal services program in the District of Columbia. The largest part of our work is comprised of individual representation in housing, domestic violence/family, public benefits, and consumer law. We also work on immigration law matters and help individuals with the collateral consequences of their involvement with the criminal legal system. From the experiences of our clients, we identify opportunities for court and law reform, public policy advocacy, and systemic litigation. For more information, [visit](visit www.LegalAidDC.org)[ ](visit www.LegalAidDC.org)[www.LegalAidDC.org](visit www.LegalAidDC.org). It is important to acknowledge that tenants are the ones living with these severe problems on a daily basis. The people we are helping, often, are seeking help for more than themselves. They represent their families. Other actors, like Legal Aid and Department of Buildings (DOB), or members of this Council, only see a small pocket of a tenant’s life. But the harm tenants and their families experience because of poor housing conditions affects their entire life. Our goal should be to stop this continued harm at the earliest point of intervention, and ensure the problem is truly fixed. We Must Have More Tenant Involvement in the DOB Abatement Process For the tenant, the process feels like it begins and ends with reporting an infraction. The tenant then has no further involvement, information, or timeline as to when the harm they are experiencing will end. Tenants are consistently not getting the DOB re port after it is complete, not getting notified that a landlord has gotten a notice of infraction, and not getting notified if a landlord claims the problem has been abated. Tenants should not only have access to the steps in the process, but they must also be able to verify measures have been taken. Currently, there is no way a tenant can contest that proper work has been completed. The only solution DOB offers is for a tenant to open another ticket andrestart the entire process, where they are again, left in the dark. This runaround is cruel for the tenant and their family, where more time dealing with the issues equals more harm they experience. Communication is how we instill faith in our systems. The system works when the people involved engage in good faith. Bad actor landlords can and will game the system which means tenants continue to suffer under unlivable housing conditions for a long time, which creates a financial drain on all institutions involved. It is critical that we give our city the tools and resources it needs to intervene when these bad actors cannot or will no

FAQs

What housing problems does the testimony highlight from tenant inspections?

The testimony describes warped wood from repeated flooding, sewage-soaked carpets, mold covering walls, rodents damaging children’s toys, and prolonged loss of essential heat. It emphasizes that families endure these conditions while repairs are delayed.

Why does the testimony call for more tenant involvement in the DOB abatement process?

It states that tenants currently have no meaningful information or timeline after reporting an infraction, are not informed when work is completed, and cannot contest whether proper work was done. Tenants must reopen tickets to restart the process, which increases harm.

What policy changes does the testimony support regarding landlord accountability and LLCs?

The testimony supports the STRONG Homes Amendment Act and recommends amendments that give tenants more voice in the receivership process. It also argues for requiring identification of natural persons financially benefiting from LLCs to prevent owners from shielding themselves from consequences.

Oct 28, 2026

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