District Of Columbia § 42-3509.01 - Penalties.

Any person who knowingly (1) demands or receives any rent for a rental unit in excess of the maximum allowable rent applicable to that rental unit under the provisions of , or (2) substantially reduces or eliminates related services previously provided for a rental unit, shall be held liable by the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing Commission, as applicable, for the amount by which the rent exceeds the applicable rent charged or for treble that amount (in the event of bad faith) and/or for a roll back of the rent to the amount the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing Commission determines.

Any person who wilfully (1) collects a rent increase after it has been disapproved under this chapter, until and unless the disapproval has been reversed by a court of competent jurisdiction, (2) makes a false statement in any document filed under this chapter, (3) commits any other act in violation of any provision of this chapter or of any final administrative order issued under this chapter, or (4) fails to meet obligations required under this chapter shall be subject to a civil fine of not more than $5,000 for each violation.

Any housing provider who has provided relocation assistance under this chapter may bring a civil action to recover the amount of relocation assistance paid to any person who was not eligible to receive the assistance.

Any person who knowingly or wilfully makes a false or fraudulent application, report, or statement in order to obtain, or for the purpose of obtaining, any grant or payment under the Tenant Assistance Program, or any person ceasing to become eligible for the grant or payment and who does not immediately notify the Department of his or her ineligibility, shall be fined not less than $50 and not more than $5,000 for each offense. A person who knowingly and wilfully makes false or fraudulent reports or statements, or of failing to notify promptly the Department of the person’s ineligibility, shall repay to the District government all amounts paid by the District government in reliance on the false or fraudulent application, report, or statement, or all amounts paid after eligibility ceases, and shall be liable for interest on the amounts at the rate of 1/2 of 1% per month until repaid.

A housing provider who discriminates against a family receiving or eligible to receive Tenant Assistance Program assistance, an elderly tenant, or a family with children when renting housing accommodations shall be fined not more than $5,000 for each violation. Repeat violators shall be fined not more than $15,000 for each violation. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as requiring the rental of a rental unit to a tenant with a child in the case of a single-room-occupancy rental unit designed for occupancy by a single adult living alone.

Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions for any infraction of subsections (b), (d), and (e) of this section, or any rules or regulations issued under the authority of these subsections, pursuant to . Adjudication of any infraction of these subsections shall be pursuant to .

Any person who knowingly, wilfully, and in bad faith makes a false or fraudulent statement to receive a tax credit for not assessing capital improvement increases to an elderly tenant or tenant with a disability shall be subject to a fine of not more than $5,000 for each violation.