Apartment City

by Nena Perry-Brown As DC continues to reckon with its dearth of affordable housing, some laws that passed years ago but were never implemented, are resurfacing. One of those is the Rent Control Amendment Act of 2006. The law amended the original rent control law passed in 1985 to put in place the following provisions: Eliminating rent ceilings and rent ceiling adjustments that haven’t been approved in accordance with petitions; Creating parameters for how much and how often landlords can raise the rent on vacant and occupied apartments; and Requiring that the Mayor issue reports on establishing an income-based set aside program. While rent ceilings have been abolished and the latter provision has arguably been realized through the creation of inclusionary zoning, landlords have long been able to take advantage of the vacant-unit loophole over the years in order to increase profits and remove units from rent control restrictions . story continues below loading... story continues...

TOWSON, MD - Three people died after a fire in Hillendale Sunday morning , according to Baltimore County public safety officials , who identified the deceased as a mother and her two young children. Bra Angah-McCray, 26, Aimee McCray, 4, and Adriel McCray, 3, lived in the apartment in the 6300 block of Holly Lane where the fire occurred, officials said. Preliminary investigation indicated the blaze was accidental and started in the kitchen of their apartment, police reported. Crews were dispatched to the blaze at 4:36 a.m., authorities said, and saw fire showing from the third floor. Photo courtesy of the Red Cross. Because of the time the fire occurred, firefighters said they searched for victims who may have been trapped and found the McCrays unconscious and in critical condition in a bedroom. After first responders tried to resuscitate them at the scene, the mother and one child were taken to St. Joseph Medical Center and another child was taken to Greater Baltimore Medical Center ...