WASHINGTON — Residents and prospective tenants appeared appreciative of new leadership, but eager to see more change at the first District of Columbia Housing Authority public oversight roundtable on Tuesday, which saw benefit recipients directly address the councilmembers overseeing the fraught government agency.
“[DCHA’s new director] Keith Pettigrew is our black panther,” voucher recipient Rhonda Hamilton said. “He knows and is experienced in how to manage a housing authority.”
This hearing was part of the authority’s three-year plan to restructure and increase transparency in the agency after a 2023 controversy involving overpaying landlords alongside an uptick in housing insecurity in Washington.
Residents currently receiving housing assistance raised concerns that the restructuring of the DCHA organizing board only maintains one seat for local representation, while previous boards had multiple neighborhood seats.
“We want our other residents to have a vote,” Christine Spencer, a DCHA housing recipient, said. She added though that she does appreciate that she can “walk out the door and see [DCHA community] events in your neighborhood…it’s refreshing.”
Councilmember Zachary Parker (Ward 5) agreed with the need for representation. “It feels like there’s a firewall between tenants and DCHA employees,” he said.
A 2023 Washington Post investigation revealed that the DCHA, which is an independent agency of the DC government, incorrectly overpaid rent for more than 15,000 households, totaling over one million dollars per month. The investigation also reported that many units provided for by the authority lacked adequate facilities, such as electricity and accessible entrances. This led to a turnover in management.
DCHA’s new leadership said they will need time to address these critical issues and point to the three-year plan, which involves more considerable structural changes to the authority’s operation, including better landlord oversight.
Residents also worried about problems that the DCHA takes too long to address.
“The biggest problem I think is a breakdown in communication,” Ronald Smith, who received his voucher after twenty years on the waitlist and requires extra room for his medical equipment, said. “My voucher is only for a one bedroom unit. The space [my wife and I] live in now is deplorable. I don’t know what to do, I need to leave this place but I can’t fit in a one-bedroom.”
The plan, which would be carried out through 2027, would also provide more resources to the Office of Customer Engagement, aimed at boosting assistance and support for residents in need.
“Whenever there’s a new administration and communication changes…it feels like I’m starting over,” Linda Brown said, a resident who worries these organizational changes will make her home unaffordable. “I just don’t feel represented.”
Despite these issues, local elected officials generally approved of the new leadership.
“Since Keith Pettigrew took over the agency has taken big strides,” Housing Committee chair Robert C. White (At-Large) said. “It’s about creating a foundation for lasting improvement. That’s what residents want and deserve.”
