A DC apartment searcher in Washington, DC, is an apartment crisis for people who don’t come from wealth: The case of Maxwell Frost
He thought that for the first few months of living in DC, he’d be couch surfing to save money. But as luck would have it, he found an apartment in Washington, D.C.’s Navy Yard neighborhood with monthly rent he figured he could swing.
He filled out a application and provided information for the credit check after he went to view the apartment. He also had to pay a $50 application fee.
The serious problem of affordability and accessibility in the D.C. political world is something that’s important for people who don’t come from wealth. While Frost dealt specifically with a credit rejection, other incoming lawmakers and politicians —especially younger members — have dealt with Washington’s lack of affordable housing in recent years.
I told the man that my credit was bad when I applied for an apartment in DC. He said I would be fine. The apartment, application fee, and denied were all lost. This ain’t meant for people who don’t already have money,” Maxwell Frost said in a tweet.
Credit checks are used by landlords to approve rental applications. But research has shown that credit scores actually perpetuate racial disparities. Sometimes the information provided in a credit check is even wrong, unfairly costing people an opportunity at housing, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
How Do I Get an Apartment in Washington, D.C.? When Congress is a disproportionately rich institution, and why people can’t afford to run for office
“[Frost] just stating this publicly is kind of saying the quiet part out loud and shining a light on a reality that it’s incredibly expensive to live in D.C., to be young in D.C., and then maintain it even for members of Congress,” Casey Burgat, the legislative affairs program director at George Washington University.
Burgat believes it makes Congress a disproportionately wealthy, disproportionately white institution. “This is a main contributor for why people can’t afford to run for office. It’s not seen as a viable path. And though we’re getting a little bit better at our diversity, we still have a long way to go and the cost of it is not getting cheaper.”
In Washington, D.C., it’s reported. the median rent is $2,600 — up $350 from last year’s average. The lack of affordable places to rent in major cities is a huge problem nationwide. The rental market has shown a 15% increase from a year ago.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez talked about her own trouble with affording housing when she was elected in 2018. She told The New York Times that she would not have a salary until after she was a member of Congress. So, how do I get an apartment? The small things are real.
Dozens of members of Congress have even turned their Capitol Hill offices into their makeshift apartments. This practice has been criticized as an inappropriate use of taxpayer money — and potentially uncomfortable for staffers who may catch their bosses in pajamas.
After 25 Years of Running for Congress, George W. Frost, a Florida Community Organizer and First Generation Z Chairman of the House of Representatives
It was during his primary that he decided to quit his full time job to be a full time candidate. 7 days a week, 10-12 hours a day. It is not sustainable or right. but it’s what we had to do.”
Some of the things he’s hoping to tackle include pushing the federal government to invest in affordable housing in areas of opportunity and to end rental application fees.
A lot of the big leasing companies and management companies will tell people who have bad credit that they are fine with applying because application fees for many of them are actually a source of revenue. And that should not be allowed,” Frost said.
The congressman-elect who will become the first Generation Z member of Congress said his rental application was denied because of his bad credit.
Frost, an Orlando-based community organizer, made history last month when he won election in Florida’s 10th Congressional District at just 25 years old. In the crowded primary, Frost surprised the leadership of the party by winning against his opponent in a solidly blue district.
In a Twitter thread, the congressman-elect expressed frustrations with relocating to the capital, saying that he has bad credit because he “ran up a lot of debt running for Congress for a year and a half” and that he did not make enough money working for Uber to pay for the cost of living.
“As a candidate, you can’t give yourself a stipend or anything till the very end of your campaign,” he added. “So most of the run, you have no $ coming in unless you work a second job.”
He referred to New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected to Congress at age 29 and had a hard time finding a place to live in Washington.
How a New Congress Can Make $Delta m2$$ Approximate $274,000 a Year?
“I also recognize that I’m speaking from a point of privilege cause in 2 years time, my credit will be okay because of my new salary that starts next year,” Frost said. We need to do better for the whole country.
The Congressional Research Service said that members of the House and Senate can make $174,000 a year, but that won’t start until January 3, when the new Congress is inaugurated.