Thanks to the work of the DC Council’s Chair Phil Mendelson and At-Large Member Robert C. White, Jr., and the unanimous approval of the DC Council, DC residents are now permanently protected from having COVID-related missed and late payments on credit reports used against them by certain users of credit reports, including by prospective landlords.
Tzedek DC and partners, including Legal Aid DC, Legal Counsel for the Elderly, Neighborhood Legal Services Program, National Consumer Law Center, and Color of Change, advocated for this law, obtaining temporary emergency protection since 2020. The new law makes this protection permanent, which is important as negative credit items will remain on consumer credit reports for at least seven years.
Ariel Levinson-Waldman, Tzedek DC’s Founding President and Director-Counsel, said, “COVID-related financial harms on credit reports will last for many more years, and, because of the massive racial wealth gaps—as well as the disparate impact on communities of color from debt collection—are an issue of racial justice in DC. Tzedek DC and our partners and client communities are proud to have worked with Council Member Robert White to lead the establishment of this consumer protection, the first of its kind in the country. We are grateful as well to Tzedek DC’s Volunteer Staff Attorney Linda Coe, whose sustained work and acumen over the last three years focused on this issue has paid off for DC residents.”
Tzedek DC, Legal Counsel for the Elderly, and Neighborhood Legal Services Program developed a website in both English and Spanish for DC residents to add statements to their credit reports to ensure that they receive the law’s protection, which has been accessed by numerous residents. Tzedek DC will continue to maintain the website and assist DC residents who need this protection.