Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)

Citation: Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)
Parent Document: Bernstein Management Corp. v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 952 A.2d 190 (2008)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 2008-07-10
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/5143675/bernstein-management-corp-v-dis... ↗

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Petitioner argues nonetheless that the amendment supplementing the authority of the DCRA to enforce the Rental Housing Act effectuated by the Civil Infractions Act, see D.C.Code § 42-3509.01(0, replaced the authority that the Rent Administrator and the RHC had under the Rental Housing Act, and placed it in the DCRA exclusively. Petitioner’s argument that the Civil Infractions Act divested the Rent Administrator and the RHC of authority to impose fines pursuant to the Rental Housing Act, however, has already been addressed by this court. In Revithes, we “reject[ed] the contention that the Council’s passage of the Civil Infractions Act amending the 1985 Rental Housing Act compels the conclusion that the RHC was not authorized to impose fines under the prior rental housing acts.” 536 A.2d at 1022 n. 35. We further held that under the Civil Infractions Act, the “RHC is indisputably authorized to impose fines pursuant to ... any ... provision of the penalty section” of the Rental Housing Act. Id. at 1022. We further note that when the Civil Infractions Act added subsection (f) to the Rental Housing Act in 1985 to give DCRA power to impose alternative sanctions, the Council left intact subsection (a), which explicitly provides that, in case of bad faith violations, the Rent Administrator and the Commission are empowered to assess penalties treble *196the amount by which a rent charged exceeds the allowable ceiling. See D.C.Code § 42-3509.01(a) (2007 Supp.).

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