District of Columbia Administrative Code

5729 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking at 64 DCR 12956 (December 22, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 6831 (June 7, 2019). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 5729 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of…

5730 GRIEVANCE POLICY 5730.1 The rules of procedure outlined in Sections 5730 through 5747 shall govern conferences and hearings resulting from complaints filed by individual participants and applicants for housing in a RAD Covered Project, including RAD units within any Private …

5731 FILING A COMPLAINT 5731.1 Any resident of or applicant for a RAD Covered Project may file with DCHA or the Project Owner a complaint requesting an administrative determination of his or her rights for any dispute he or she may have with respect to a Project Owner’s action or…

5732 INFORMAL SETTLEMENT OF COMPLAINTS 5732.1 Except for complaints filed by applicants that have already participated in an informal conference pursuant to Section 6107 or for complaints concerning termination of assistance, within three (3) business days of receipt of the compl…

5733 REQUEST FOR HEARING 5733.1 (a) If after the informal settlement conference the complainant is not satisfied with the proposed disposition of his or her complaint, he or she may submit in person or by mail a written request for a hearing. Upon request, DCHA or the Project Own…

5734 SELECTION OF HEARING OFFICERS 5734.1 The DCHA shall select six (6) impartial, disinterested members of any bar in good standing to be available to serve as hearing officers. 5734.2 If the complainant objects to the hearing officer, DCHA and the complainant shall attempt to a…

5735 AUTHORITY OF HEARING OFFICERS 5735.1 The hearing officer shall have all powers necessary to conduct a fair and impartial hearing, including the following: (a) To administer or direct the administration of oaths and affirmations; (b) To examine witnesses and direct witnesses …

5736 EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS 5736.1 The hearing officer shall not consult any person, or party on any fact at issue except after notice and opportunity for all parties to participate. 5736.2 No employee, or agent, of the District of Columbia government engaged in the investigatio…

5737 RIGHTS OF COMPLAINANTS 5737.1 The complainant shall be afforded a fair hearing providing the basic safeguards of due process, which shall include the following: (a) The right to be represented by legal counsel or another person chosen as a representative; at their own expens…

5738 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking at 64 DCR 12956 (December 22, 2017); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 66 DCR 6831 (June 7, 2019). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 5738 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR District of Columbia Housing Authority Act of…

5739 FAILURE TO APPEAR 5739.1 If either party fails to appear at a hearing, the hearing officer may do the following: (a) Postpone the hearing for up to five (5) business days; (b) With the consent of both parties, reschedule the hearing for a later date; (c) Make a determination…

5740 HEARING PROCEDURES 5740.1 At the hearing, the complainant shall make a showing of entitlement to the relief sought. If in the opinion of the hearing officer the complainant fails to do so, the hearing officer may render a decision in favor of DCHA without further presentatio…

5741 TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEDURES 5741.1 All hearings at the OFH shall be recorded. 5741.2 The complainant may obtain a copy of the recording of the hearing at his or her own expense. 5741.3 Transcripts of the recording of the hearings shall be prepared by a qualified reporter or tra…

5742 DECISION OF THE HEARING OFFICER 5742.1 The hearing officer shall prepare a written decision, together with the reasons therefor, within ten (10) business days after the close of the hearing. Copies of the decision shall be mailed to the complainant, DCHA and the OFH. 5742.2 …

5743 BRIEFS IN SUPPORT OF OR TAKING ISSUE WITH THE DECISION OF THE HEARING OFFICER 5743.1 Any party may file a brief with OFH in support of or in opposition to the hearing officer’s proposed decision within ten (10) business days after service of the decision; SOURCE: Final Rulem…

5744 EFFECT OF DECISION 5744.1 A decision of the hearing officer which is in favor of the Project Owner or DCHA, or denies the complainant his or her requested relief in whole, or in part, shall not constitute a waiver of, or affect in any manner whatever, rights the complainant …

5745 DECISION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF DCHA 5745.1 Within seven (7) business days after expiration of the time for filing briefs as provided in § 5743, the Executive Director of DCHA, upon consideration of the record, together with any briefs, shall make a determination of th…

5746 NOTICE TO VACATE PREMISES 5746.1 If the complaint relates to a notice to correct or vacate, or a notice to vacate, served on the tenant and there has been a determination by the hearing examiner or Executive Director in favor of the Project Owner, the Project Owner shall not…

5747 RECORDS 5747.1 The Central Grievance Files shall be maintained in a central location by the Office of Fair Hearings and shall be made promptly available to interested members of the public for inspection and copying pursuant to procedures established by the OFH. 5747.2 Subje…

5748 TRANSFER POLICY 5748.1 It shall be the policy of the District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) to transfer Families from one dwelling unit to another to alleviate conditions of hardship caused by physical conditions or to address changed family circumstances. Transfers m…

5749 MANDATORY TRANSFERS 5749.1 The DCHA may initiate Mandatory Transfers for households in order to alleviate certain housing conditions. The following represent examples of such conditions: (a) To relocate Families that are living in dwelling units with conditions that represen…

5750 TRANSFER REQUEST BY TENANT 5750.1 DCHA will approve transfer requests for Families that are in compliance with the terms and conditions of their leases and have resided in their dwelling units for at least one year. Families with a disabled household member that request reas…

5751 FAMILY RIGHT TO MOVE 5751.1 The Family may terminate its assisted lease at any time after the first year of occupancy, subject to the terms of the lease. The Family must provide thirty (30)-day written notice of intent to vacate to the Property Manager of the RAD Covered Pro…

5752 OWNER TERMINATION OF TENANCY 5752.1 The Project Owner may not terminate a participant’s tenancy except on the following grounds: Serious or repeated violation of the terms and conditions of the valid, written lease; Violation of federal or local law that imposes obligations …

5753 DCHA TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE 5753.1 DCHA may terminate program assistance for the Participant for any grounds authorized in accordance with HUD requirements. 5753.2 Upon notification that the Project Owner has instituted a legal action to gain possession of the dwelling un…

5754 VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF TENANCY 5754.1 The Participant may terminate tenancy at any time after the first year of occupancy by giving advance written notice of intent to vacate to the Project Owner (with a copy to DCHA) in accordance with the lease. 5754.2 Termination of Ten…

5755 DWELLING LEASE: LEASE PROVISIONS 5755.1 Each Dwelling Lease shall be administered in accordance with the provisions stipulated, and kept current at all times. 5755.2 Required Information. Each family admitted for occupancy in RAD Covered Project shall enter into a written dw…

5756 CHANGES TO THE LEASE 5756.1 DCHA shall add names to the lease after initial occupancy only in accordance with Section 6117 of this title. Any person using or occupying the Leased Premises not in compliance with Section 6117 of this title is an unauthorized occupant without t…

5757 LESSEE RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5757.1 Lessees shall be responsible for their actions and the actions of household members, guests, and any person under the Lessee’s control or on the Leased Premises with Lessee’s consent. 5757.2 Lessees are responsible for maintaining th…

5758 PROJECT OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES 5758.1 DCHA shall be responsible for maintenance and repair of dwelling units in accordance with the provisions of the lease, including the following responsibilities: (a) To maintain the premises and the project in decent, safe and sanitary co…

5759 REPAIR PROCEDURE 5759.1 Upon receipt of a repair request from a tenant, or in the case of a Project Owner initiated repair, the Project Owner shall inspect the unit to determine the repair required. If the repair cannot be completed during the first visit, repairs shall be s…

5760 CHARGE TO THE TENANT FOR REPAIRS AND SERVICES 5760.1 Charges shall be assessed against the tenant for repairs to the dwelling unit beyond normal wear and tear, for damage caused by the tenant, members of the tenant’s household, or guests. 5760.2 Where inspection of the unit …

5761 RIGHT TO ENTER DWELLING 5761.1 The Project Owner shall, upon written notice to the Lessee of at least two (2) days, be permitted to enter the dwelling unit during reasonable hours for the purpose of performing routine inspections or maintenance, making improvements or repair…

5762 MOVE-IN AND MOVE-OUT INSPECTION 5762.1 The Project Owner shall conduct a move-in inspection with the new tenant the same day as the Dwelling Lease is signed for occupancy. DCHA and the tenant shall sign the unit inspection form certifying the condition of the unit, and the e…

5763 ANNUAL INSPECTION 5763.1 Each occupied unit shall be inspected annually by the Project Owner. A written notice of inspection shall be given to the tenant at least two (2) days in advance. 5763.2 Tenant-caused damage discovered during this inspection shall be assessed to the …

5764 REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: INTRODUCTION 5764.1 The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) is committed to operating all of its housing programs in a fair and impartial way. In addition to requiring fairness and impartiality without regard to race, color, sex, sexual o…

5765 REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: APPLICATION OF REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS POLICY 5765.1 This chapter applies to individuals with disabilities in the following programs provided by the DCHA: (a) Applicants of all Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) and Project Based Voucher Progr…

5766 REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: PERSONS WITH A DISABILITY 5766.1 Disability shall be defined as in § 5705 of this chapter and in the Americans with Disability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12102. 5766.2 The definition of disability does not include any individual who is an alcoholic whose cur…

5767 REQUEST FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS 5767.1 A person with a disability may request a reasonable accommodation at any time during the application process or participation in the RAD/PBV Programs of DCHA. All requests must be reduced to writing by the individual, any person i…

5768 REQUEST FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS BY RAD/PBV PARTICIPANTS AND APPLICANTS 5768.1 Requested accommodations will not be approved if one of the following would occur as a result: (a) A violation of District of Columbia and/or federal law; (b) A fundamental alteration in the …

5769 OCCUPANCY OF ACCESSIBLE UNIT 5769.1 DCHA has RAD/PBV units designated for persons with mobility, sight and hearing impairments referred to as accessible units. 5769.2 DCHA will offer these accessible units to families in the following order: (a) First: Current occupant of pu…

5770 GRIEVANCES 5770.1 The RAD/PBV applicant or participant complainant may file a complaint in accordance with DCHA’s grievance procedure (§§ 5730 et seq.) following a decision by the ADA/504 Coordinator. 5770.2 Rental Assistance Demonstration participant and applicant complaina…

5771 SERVICE OR ASSISTANCE ANIMALS 5771.1 Participants in DCHA programs, including RAD/PBV projects, with disabilities are permitted to have service or assistance animals, if such animals are necessary as a reasonable accommodation for their disabilities. RAD/PBV participants or …

5772 RECERTIFICATION/LEASE RENEWAL 5772.1 Thirty (30) days before the date for recertification/lease renewal for a participant in the RAD/PBV Program, the PBV/RAD property owner or manager will provide a notice along with a package to the family to initiate the recertification/le…

5773 BARRING POLICY 5773.1 The Project Owner has the right to refuse entrance or access to any of its properties to any person not authorized under the meaning of § 5773.3. 5773.2 Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “DCHA prop…

5774 VEHICLE POLICY 5774.1 All RAD Covered Projects are private property and parking is prohibited unless approved by the owner. In addition, the owner has the right to tow any unauthorized vehicle on RAD Covered Projects as provided in this chapter. 5774.2 Definitions (a) "Aband…

5775 ACHIEVING YOUR BEST LIFE PROGRAM IN RAD COVERED PROJECTS 5775.1 Achieving Your Best Life (“AYBL”), governed by rules found at 14 DCMR §§ 9800 et seq., is a program that allows public housing residents in the District to increase earned income and to prepare to purchase a hom…

5776 RESIDENT PARTICIPATION 5776.1 The RAD Project-Based Property Owner shall recognize a legitimate resident organization and will give reasonable consideration to concerns raised by a legitimate resident organization. 5776.2 “Legitimate resident organization” is defined as a re…

5799 DEFINITIONS 5799.1 When used in this subtitle, the following terms and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed: Adjusted Income - is annual income less the following amounts: (a) Four hundred eighty dollars ($ 480) for each dependent; (b) Four hundred dollars ($ 400) for any…

5800 GENERAL POLICY 5800.1 DCHA takes several steps to avoid recommending participant families and Owners for termination from the Program. Prior to making a Recommendation for Termination (RFT), DCHA will provide notice to the affected party/parties that includes a description o…