Washington DC has a housing crisis — and the D.C. Council doesn’t want to talk about it.
Young people are leaving this city in droves. Not because they want to. Not because they don’t love DC. But because they simply cannot afford to stay. Rents that consume half their paycheck. No path to savings. No path to ownership. No future here. So they leave — for Virginia, for Maryland, for somewhere they can actually build a life.
And the DC Council? They hold another press conference. They form another task force. They announce another study. And rents keep going up.
Meanwhile, our longtime residents — the people who built this city, who raised families here, who gave decades of their lives to these neighborhoods — are getting squeezed out one rent hike at a time.
Seniors on fixed incomes are making choices no American should ever have to make: pay the rent or buy the groceries. Stay in the home you’ve lived in for thirty years, or move somewhere cheaper and leave everything you’ve ever known behind.
This is Washington DC in 2025. One of the wealthiest, most powerful cities on the planet — and its own people can’t afford to live here.
I’ve had enough. And I think you have too.
HERE’S WHAT I’M PROPOSING.
When I’m elected DCGOP Ward 2 Chairman on June 16th, I’m going to fight to make the DC Rent Relief Act the centerpiece of the DC Republican platform.
It’s simple. It’s bold. And it works.
Make 100% of residential rent payments tax-deductible on DC income taxes.
Every renter. Every dollar. Every year. No bureaucracy. No means-testing. No political favorites. You pay rent in the District — you deduct every penny from your DC taxable income. Period.
At DC’s effective tax rate, that’s roughly $1,850 to $2,100 back in your pocket every single year. Not a government voucher. Not a waiting list. Not a promise. Real money. Your money. Returned to you.
“BUT CAN DC AFFORD IT?”
That’s the first thing the political class will say. It’s always what they say when someone proposes putting residents ahead of government.
Here’s my answer: The DC Council just passed a $21 billion budget. Twenty-one billion dollars — for a city of 700,000 people. That is nearly $30,000 in government spending for every man, woman, and child in the District.
The DC government has ballooned by over 40% in the last decade. And what do residents have to show for it? Unaffordable housing. Dangerous streets. Failing schools. A rat infestation so bad it made national news.
The District does not have a revenue problem. It has a priority problem.
DC homeowners already benefit from mortgage interest deductions, property tax breaks, and capital gains exclusions. Renters — who are disproportionately younger, working-class, and minority — get nothing.
Zero structural tax advantage. That is not fair. And a Republican Party worth its salt should be the one saying so loudly.
THE BOTTOM LINE.
A city that prices out its own people is a city in decline. DC is watching its young talent leave, its seniors struggle, and its middle class disappears — while the political class pats itself on the back and budgets for more.
I’m running for DCGOP Ward 2 Chairman because I believe DC Republicans need to be in this fight — loudly, aggressively, and with real ideas that help real people.
The DC Rent Relief Act is that idea.
The DC Council can do with less. Our residents deserve more.
Vote John Fredericks — June 16th Republican Primary.
For more information, visit www.MakeDCGreat.com.