Rent control has been around in the District for many years. It has been amended from time to time, and as a result, Washington, D.C. has perhaps one of the strongest tenant-rights bills in the nation.

On Saturday, August 5, 2006, yet another amendment became law.

Jim Graham, the prime sponsor of this law, and Chairman of the DC Council's Committee on Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, told this columnist: "I am glad we saved rent control. Under the old provisions, it was dying and dying quickly. As apartments became vacant, the old law permitted a near limitless increase in rent of the new tenant. What use is rent control if the apartments have luxury rents? We changed all of that."

If you are a landlord -- which the law calls a "housing provider" -- you will no doubt be concerned about the major changes in the law. If you are a tenant, however, you will probably be delighted with the scope and effect of Act 16-391.

Let's start with basics. Residential landlords fall into two categories: exempt from the rent control laws or covered.

Exemptions include rental units built after 1975, and federally or District subsidized rental units. Perhaps the most important exclusion is for individuals who own four or less rental units in the District of Columbia.

It should be noted that corporations, including limited liability companies, are not "natural persons" and thus even if a corporation only owns one residential unit, it is not exempt from the coverage of the Act.

It should also be noted that these exemptions are not automatic. The landlord must file an exemption form with the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and must also obtain a business license authorizing the rental of the unit or units.

The "covered" landlords are all others who are not exempt.

Perhaps the most major change is that rent ceilings have been abolished. In its place, the new law now deals with "rent charges" and imposes many new requirements:

Every year, the District publishes the annual adjustment which covered landlords can use. These adjustments are based on the Consumer Price Index for the Washington, DC. area. Over the years, these increases have fluctuated from below one percent to around 3 percent. The new law allows increases only once a year. And the new rent cannot exceed 2 percent plus the annual adjustment. However, there are two caps to this increase.

Senior citizens or disabled tenants -- regardless of income -- cannot have their rent increased by 5 percent or the annual adjustment, whichever is lower. According to DCRA, however, "a tenant who believes he or she fits the definitions of elderly or disabled ... must file an application with the Rent Administrator and give a copy of the application to the housing provider ... Under the Act, a tenant is not qualified as elderly or disabled until the Rent Administrator determines his or her status." (DCRA website).

And in any event, the total annual increase cannot exceed 10 percent.

If a rental unit becomes vacant, before the new law took effect, landlords were permitted to increase the rent by 12 percent under most circumstances. Now, however, landlords can only increase the rent either by 10 percent of the current rent being charged that unit or "to the amount of rent charged for a substantially identical rental unit in the same housing accommodation."

The new law also places significant disclosure requirements on all covered landlords:

• within 15 days after a new tenancy begins, the landlord must disclose to that tenant the applicable rent for the unit, the amount of any increases during the preceding three years, and the identification of any substantially identical rental unit on which the vacancy increase is based.

• if a tenant makes a written request to the landlord, no more than once a year the landlord shall respond within 10 business days and provide the tenant the same disclosure as referenced above.

Finally, when a prospective tenant files an application to lease a rental unit, the landlord must provide that applicant certain information, including but not limited to (a) the applicable rent for the unit, (b) any petition filed with DCRA which could impact the rental unit, (c) any surcharges on the rent, such as capital improvement fees, and the expiration date of those surcharges, (d) the frequency with which rent increases may be implemented, (e) the status of the landlord as exempt or covered, (f) any housing code violations notices issued by DCRA within the past 12 months, and (g) a pamphlet to be published by DCRA which will explain in simple english the laws and regulations regarding rents in the District of Columbia.

It obviously is too early to know whether the law will be challenged in the courts by the landlord community. It is also premature at this point in time to determine what impact -- if any -- the law will have on the relationship between landlords and tenants.

What is known, however, is that this simple 5 page law will have significant ramifications on the income of both landlords and tenants.

NOTE: A preliminary pamphlet explaining this new law can be located at the DCRA website , or by visiting their office at Suite 7100, 942 North Capitol Street, NE.