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Laura Zeilinger, director of D.C.’s Department of Human Services, which supervises ERAP, has another perspective on the problem. She said told me in an interview this week that there are some cases of individuals suspected of having used the program dishonestly. Those cases are referred to DHS’s Office of Program Review, Monitoring and Investigation, she said.

But Zeilinger said DHS faces a larger challenge in ensuring that ERAP is used by the people for whom it is intended, i.e. those with sincere housing emergencies. That, she suggested, is not the inspector general’s job; rather, it — along with questions of the program’s size, scope, eligibility process and management — falls squarely into the laps of DHS, Bowser and the D.C. Council.

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And the real tests boil down to money and administration, both of which are in short supply with regard to ERAP.

The former challenge — money — is uncomplicated. During the covid-19 pandemic, the federal government allocated unprecedented sums to states and locales to help people unable to keep roofs over their heads. The District received more than $350 million for that. That money substantially augmented the city’s pre-covid $8 million program.

But the federal largesse has come and gone, and this fiscal year, the city, according to Zeilinger, is facing a demand that is higher than it can meet with $20 million. That’s the money aspect of the challenge.

As for sound administration, or lack thereof, the D.C. Council must enter the picture.

Faced with growing demand for rental assistance and slow disbursement of federal emergency funds as the pandemic reverberated in 2022, the council passed the “Emergency Rental Assistance Reform and Career Mobility Action Plan Program Establishment Amendment Act.” The law allowed applicants who are “unable to provide sufficient documentation or proof” to qualify for rental assistance to instead submit “an unsworn declaration” that “shall be considered sufficient documentation or proof to establish eligibility.” Gain eligibility for thousands of dollars in benefits from the D.C. government through self-attestation, in other words.

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After the self-certification law passed, the number of ERAP applications leaped from 4,017 in fiscal 2021 to 7,087 to date in 2024, according to DHS.

DHS officials believe the council’s law has created a perverse incentive to obtain ERAP payments. They report that landlords have told DHS that numerous tenants are falling behind on rent because they claim they have established eligibility for........

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