Forest Hills Connection || News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood
Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield
Welcome Forest Hills high-risers! We are a vital and diverse community of 31 high-rises, consisting of 18 apartment buildings, 10 condominiums and 3 cooperatives. We even have one low-rise garden apartment community in our midst.
by Marlene Berlin Two DC Council committees will hold a joint hearing this Thursday on a bill that would require housing providers to also provide on-site services to residents receiving housing assistance. The “On-Site Services Act of 2019” (B23-0180) would also provide for funding. Affected buildings would have at least 20 apartments, and at least […]
Some of our apartment building neighbors are here thanks to vouchers making their rents more affordable. And they are, as The DC Line puts it, “spawning debates over how best to provide housing for DC’s most vulnerable residents.” Tenant advocates at Sedgwick Gardens, the apartment building at 3726 Connecticut Avenue, told DC housing authorities, the […]
by Barbara Cline March is one of my favorite months. It’s the end of winter, the beginning of spring… and when I know how much my rent increase will be for my rent-controlled apartment. And the 2019 rent increase for rent-controlled buildings is… Our annual rent control increase is based on the lower of: the […]
by Barbara Cline It’s a common dispute between housing providers and renters: the refund of the renter’s security deposit. The security deposit is an additional one month of rent paid when the renter first moves into the rental unit. Generally, renters expect to collect the deposit plus interest when they move out, provided the provider […]
by Barbara Cline From May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019, the annual rent increase for rent-controlled apartments in DC is 3.4%. For the elderly or disabled renters in these units, it can be less. Quite a bit less, in fact. A new DC law went into effect on April 7, 2017 that changed the […]
by Barbara Cline Each September for the last nine years I have trekked down to the Kellogg Conference Hotel/Gallaudet University in Ward 5 to attend the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate’s annual Tenant and Tenant Association Summit. The Summit is OTA’s largest outreach event – a key part of its mission to educate the […]
We tried to take it easy over the holidays, but the news about neighbors and neighborhood spots has been coming in nonstop since our last roundup. This is going to be a two-parter, with more “Neighborhood in the News” links tomorrow. DC sues over “rent concessions”: We’ve told you about the practice that has given […]
We’ve been seeing more dog poop on sidewalks and in tree boxes. Have you? Our neighborhood’s dog population has grown as apartment building relax policies to allow these wonderful pets. The plus is the social engagement that dogs bring. The minus is an increase in dog poop that is not being captured by the owner […]
by Barbara Cline A couple moved into their affordable Northwest DC rent-controlled apartment last year to save for their wedding. They understood that DC rent-controlled apartments are restricted to one annual automatic rent increase for inflation. This annual rent increase is also regulated – because it is tied to a formula based on the annual […]
by Barbara Cline Recently I heard from my old neighbor – the same one who lived through my late fees nightmare. She moved out of her apartment this summer. And now she had another problem. She had gone on her apartment move-out inspection with the manager. He assured her that her apartment was “perfect” with […]
