HOUSING PUBLIC HEARING - Testimony on “B25-0418, the “Voluntary Agreement Abolition Amendment Act of 2023”

I am grateful for the opportunity to testify on B25-0418, the “Voluntary Agreement Abolition Amendment Act of 2023. [...] 70 percent of the tenants must sign the agreement before the provider can submit the petition. [...] We ask the Committee to consider the following facts: First, voluntary agreements are rare. [...] That puts the petition rate to 0.6 percent and the approval rate to 0.2 percent. [...] The opportunity of being able to adjust rents (with support from the tenants), when it is necessary to update amenities and services in a building, keeps investors interested in rent-controlled building and keeps housing providers interested in owning them.