A 30-person rental housing task force convened by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser in January is recommending a “phased end” to the city’s comprehensive eviction moratorium, based on indicators such as COVID-19 case numbers, court capacity, the availability of eviction prevention resources, and funding for rental assistance.

The eviction ban, which the D.C. Council put in place in March 2020, is intended to protect vulnerable D.C. tenants during the pandemic and limit the spread of COVID-19. But it has become a target for landlords, who say some residents are taking advantage of its protections.

The task force — which Bowser refers to as a “strike force” — delivered its recommendations in a report posted on the Department of Housing and Community Development’s website. It says members had “significant disagreement” over how to end the city’s eviction moratorium, but they ultimately agreed that evictions should be allowed to ramp back up “under a narrow set of defined causes, when necessary to ensure health and safety in residential communities while respecting the public and individual health goals of the eviction moratorium.”

That language was devised by four members in particular, according to the report: Josh Bernstein, CEO of Bernstein Management Company; Ralph Boyd, CEO of So Others Might Eat; Randi Marshall, vice president with the Apartment and Office Building Association of Greater Metropolitan Washington; and Marian Siegel, executive director of Housing Counseling Services.

Tenant advocates have criticized the number of landlord representatives Bowser selected for the task force. An attorney with Legal Aid D.C., which represents low-income residents in rental housing disputes, called the group “stacked with landlord and developer representatives.” The final list of task force members includes six representatives of for-profit housing providers and one tenant representative.

Landlord groups such as the Small Multifamily Owners Association have pressed councilmembers to weaken the eviction ban. A proposal introduced by Chairman Phil Mendelson last week would have allowed evictions to resume as long as landlords attempt to apply for federal rent assistance on the tenants’ behalf, inform them about rental aid options, and provide proper notice. The council shot down the proposal, opting to revisit it after a public hearing about how to equitably wind down pandemic safety net provisions.

“I don’t think residents need to be threatened” in order to seek financial help, said Councilmember Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4).

The council is expected to reconsider changes to the eviction ban during its next legislative session. Lawmakers voted 12-1 last month to allow evictions of tenants who present “a current and substantial threat” to their neighbors, household members, and building staff. Lewis George cast the lone dissenting vote.

The city funneled more than $350 million federal dollars into its Stay DC program to help tenants pay rent during the health emergency, but tenants and landlords both say there are hiccups in the application process that are limiting the program’s effectiveness.

Bowser asked the task force to “advise on how to handle immediate, emergency issues like eviction and distressed properties in a way that puts the District in a good position to meet the mayor’s housing goals during a recovery period and beyond,” in addition to other priorities.

In the report, the group also recommends prioritizing rental assistance for the highest-risk residents; increasing funding to allow more tenants to purchase their buildings under the District’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act; supporting more housing density; creating incentives to retain or attract affordable housing in wealthy communities; convening a commission focused on rent control; and harnessing federal funds to create more affordable housing.

The mayor announced Monday that she’s pledging $400 million for affordable housing spread across the current fiscal year and 2022.

The recommendations were sent to leaders of the city’s housing agencies for their consideration, according to the report.