RENTAL HOUSING QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DC MAYORAL CANDIDATES (2026)
Rental housing has long been a second-tier issue in DC mayoral elections. While candidates almost universally agree that the city needs more “affordable housing,” it isn’t clear what that means because the terms has two meanings 1) housing that is affordable 2) low-income housing. Moreover, candidates often avoid difficult questions about enforcement of DC’s laws regarding rental housing which are supposed to ensure adequate living conditions, maintenance meeting housing codes, safety, rents, and other issues.
The questionnaire on rental housing issues was sent to all DC mayoral candidates. Only two candidates responded — Janeese Lewis George and Gary Goodweather. The campaign for candidate Kenyan McDuffie initially indicated that he would respond, but subsequently declined.
The questions were designed to force candidates to stake a clear position on the issues by requiring a yes or no response. If a candidate answered yes or no for a question, he or she was permitted to also include a longer response explaining their answer. Both candidates who responded took advantage of this opportunity to write longer answers.
The election this year is particularly important for DC renters. We hope all DC residents find the candidate answers to the questionnaire informative.