The measure is named after two-year-old Ezechiel Nguemezi, who died in Oct. 2020 after he fell out of a third floor window in a Takoma Park apartment building. 

The Housing Justice Act bans landlords from running criminal background checks on prospective tenants until after they make a conditional offer of housing.

“If you don’t know the rules, you can’t play the game,” says the District’s Chief Tenant Advocate.

There are more than 12,000 eviction proceedings pending in Virginia courts.

The court found that the anti-discrimination lawsuit from the office of D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is “substantially likely to succeed.”

It’s already technically illegal for landlords to discriminate against renters based on their source of income, but flagrant discrimination in housing ads is still rampant in the District.

Advocates say housing inspectors should be trained to be able to spot mold and cite landlords who don’t do anything to address it.

“Since the city is aware, are we going to get some results? Is anything going to happen? I don’t know. I’m optimistic,” said one resident of a building owned by Sanford Capital.

A Maryland man has pleaded guilty to placing hidden cameras in rooms he rented out to three tenants.

Arlington-based hamburger destinations Ray’s Hell Burger and Ray’s Hell Burger Too have been closed after a dispute between owner Michael Landrum and his landlord.