FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2025
DC leaders urged to help families avoid this trauma
WASHINGTON, DC — Nearly 2,000 DC renter households faced eviction from their home in Fiscal Year 2024, the highest level in at least a decade, according to a new report from United Planning Organization (UPO). Please read the analysis and recommendations for change.
Evictions in 2024 were 18% higher than the average in the five years before the pandemic. The increase in this deeply traumatic experience is troubling, given that DC’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) was cut 60% in the FY 2025 DC budget, to $27 million, resulting in an estimated 6,000 fewer households getting emergency assistance.
The high rate of evictions reflects severe financial pressures faced by renters with low incomes. 37,000 DC renter households with low incomes spend more than half of their income on housing. These households’ total rent in 2023 exceeded 50% of their income by a collective $94 million, which is more than 3x the total amount available through ERAP. These financial struggles are harming DC landlords as well, contributing to an unusually high rate of rental arrears.
“The shocking increase in evictions is an important barometer of how DC residents are doing,” said Andrea Thomas, President and CEO of UPO. “It tells us that thousands of DC residents with low incomes are struggling to keep up with high housing and food prices.”
Eviction is a highly traumatic event. Beyond the risk of homelessness, it often forces families to lose material items and move to less desirable housing and neighborhoods. It often leads to job loss and damages a family’s credit history. It is considered an “adverse childhood experience” because of the long-term damage it has on child mental well-being and educational success.
The number of evictions in the first four months of FY 2025 was nearly twice as high as the same period in FY 2024, suggesting that evictions for the year will be much higher than 2024. The UPO report calls on DC’s leaders to increase funding for affordable housing programs that reach the poorest residents, as well as for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP).
“Without intentional efforts to help struggling families pay rent and other bills, the District will continue to break its records for evictions year after year,” said Thomas.
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About United Planning Organization
Many people throughout Washington, DC face financial insecurity. They turn to United Planning Organization for the tools that help them reach their full potential.
A nonprofit community development organization, UPO is the Community Action Agency that serves District residents with low incomes — we Unite People with Opportunities so they can overcome barriers and lift themselves into the middle class.
A staff of 400 and over 600 volunteers help 50,000 DC residents each year with programs including education, job training and placement, health, housing counseling, and strengthening families and communities (including partnering with developers to create new affordable housing). UPO also operates the District’s first Financial Empowerment Center, where all DC residents can receive professional, one-on-one, free financial counseling virtually and in person.
PRESS CONTACT: Zohar Rom zrom@upo.org (202) 238-4664 Cell: (202) 812-4001
