UrbanTurf Reader Asks: $330 a Month in Rent in DC?

• January 24th 2012

by UrbanTurf Staff

In this installment of UrbanTurf Reader Asks, a reader inquires as to whether or not the type of legendary rent deals that are famous in New York City exist in DC.

This past weekend, I was reading The New York Times real estate section and came across a story about a man who rents a 1,200 square-foot, four-bedroom Greenwich Village apartment for just $331 a month. The apartment is one of 16,000 rent-controlled apartments in New York, and is located in an area where two-bedroom apartments fetch $4,500 a month. I have lived in DC for several years, renting first and then buying, and have never heard of deals this good. Does anything like the New York City apartment deal exists in DC, outside of subsidized or affordable housing? As jealous as I would be, I would love to hear of any stories about people who pay obscenely low rent in the city.

Rent control in DC was established as part of the Rental Housing Act of 1985. Essentially, it restricts the frequency and amount by which owners of housing units covered by rent control can adjust the monthly rents of their tenants. It also requires landlords to give tenants adequate notification of rent increases and provides for an appeals process for tenants who believe that rents have been raised improperly. For housing subject to rent control, adjustments in rent amounts are only permitted once every 12 months and tenants must receive a minimum of 30 days notification of proposed increases.

Post your responses in the comments section. If you would like to submit a question for UrbanTurf Reader Asks, send an email to editor2011@urbanturf.com.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/urbanturf_reader_asks_330_a_month_in_rent_in_dc/4981.