D.C. Council restores money to the Affordable Housing Preservation Fund!

On May 28, 2019, the D.C. Council voted to allocate $11.5 million for the Affordable Housing Preservation Fund  – one of D.C.’s critical tools to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement. When we contacted you on Friday asking you to take action, it was because the D.C. Council had amended the Mayor’s proposed fiscal year 2020 budget and reduced the funding for the Preservation Fund from $15 million to zero.

Nearly 100 of CSG activists rose to the challenge, and thanks to your letters and comments, by the time the Council reconvened on Tuesday, they had restored $7.5 million to the Preservation Fund! In a final switch, the D.C. Council voted to take $4 million out of the Housing Production Trust Fund and put it into the Preservation Fund, resulting in a final allocation of $11.5 million. Restoring funding was a huge lift and we could not have done it without you!

While CSG is disappointed that this additional funding came from the Housing Production Trust Fund, which helps to fund the production and rehabilitation of affordable units, the Preservation Fund provides the money for the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and District Opportunity to Purchase Act (DOPA). Giving tenants an opportunity to purchase their homes is a critical tool to prevent displacement, and we are confident this money will be put to good use. Last year, the Preservation Fund saved nearly 900 affordable homes across the entire city.

We are so grateful to everyone for taking action in the run up to a long weekend to ensure that this critical fund continues to support tenants and the District as they seek to buy buildings and preserve them as affordable housing.