A housing strike force released a report this month laying out its recommendations for helping DC’s rental housing market recover after more than a year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike force, chaired by Department of Housing and Community Development Director Polly Donaldson, kicked off in February and met a handful of times before releasing its final report on May 21. Bowser convened the strike force to address rental housing affordability challenges that began years ago but were exacerbated by the pandemic. Unemployment meant renters couldn’t pay; shifts in the housing market left some units vacant; and, according to the report, many see helping rental housing recover as a “zero-sum game” that can either protect tenants or landlords, but not both.