WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — A newly proposed bill aims to make it more attainable for families with pets to find safe, affordable housing in the District.
“Too often a person’s beloved companion and animal is a barrier to finding and staying in affordable housing here in D.C. So today we’re trying to do something about that,” said councilmember Robert White.
On Wednesday, White announced the Pets in Housing Amendment Act.
If passed, the bill would ban restrictions and higher fees for pet owners of certain breeds of animals, cap pet rent at $25 per month and cap pet security deposits at $300. Additionally, it would require the D.C. Department of Human Services to provide at least one low barrier shelter that accepts people with pets.
“It’s common sense but game changing updates to housing policy,” White said.
Kailey McNeal, a law student at George Washington University, said she faced these restrictions after she adopted her dog, Nakia.
“Most apartments that are pet friendly place restrictions on what type of dogs they can have based on the breed and size for the animal,” McNeal said.
Nakia, who was rescued from a shelter, was listed as a bulldog mix on her shelter paperwork. Because of that, McNeal was told she couldn’t have the dog at her D.C. apartment.
“My landlord didn’t care what she looked like, if she was aggressive or potty trained or destructive,” she said. “All that mattered was if her paperwork named her as a dangerous breed.”
McNeal was able to convince her landlord to let her stay with the dog. But she acknowledges others aren’t as lucky.
McNeal said she supports the legislation and also believes it’s a way to tackle racial discrimination, particularly for people who own pitbulls.
“Though once thought of as the nanny dog in America, in the 80’s and 90’s the all American pitbull loved by Black and white Americans began to be featured more prominently in black pop culture,” McNeal said. “At the same time, the fear of crime rose and so did the fear that low-income black communities were responsible for it.”
She said the dog breed became stereotyped.
“Black folks, and by extension Pitbulls, became unjustly associated with crime, gang violence, drugs and dog fighting,” McNeal said.
Meanwhile, advocates with the Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) believe the legislation will help keep families together.
“Last year over 600 families were separated from their pets that they loved because of these systemic barriers,” said Bobby Mann, with the HRA.
This bill still requires consideration and a vote by the full council.
DC News Now reached out to the D.C. Landlord Association but did not hear back in time for publication.
