DC Multiunit - Property Mgr & Voucher Rent Question❓

[Solomon G.]

Hi BP Community! Had a couple questions related to a four unit multifamily in Kingman Park (all two beds, 1 Bath) that I’m closing on in December ‘22. It’s walking distance to many things including a metro (Stadium Armory) and Capital Hill.

1. Two out of four of the units are occupied by tenants paying much less than the voucher amount in Kingman Park (Old City) which is currently $2,872. One is month-to-month and the other is still under lease for another 9 months or so. I was advised that I can petition to the city rental division showing my expenses as the housing provider and once approved, have the month-to-month renter brought up to market rent and I’m stuck with the lower rent for the leased unit until that lease is over then I can petition for the same thing - show expenses and get the underrented unit brought up to current rent. Cash flow would be nonexistent if stuck with the low rents for the two units so this is a concern of mine.
Question: As the new owner of the multifamily, is the petition process relatively easy to get DC approval to raise the rent on month-to-month voucher tenants? Or replace them with another voucher tenant at the current voucher rate?
2. Looking for a recommended property management company with experience working with voucher tenants and navigating the DCHA policies. I’ve budgeting about 8% of monthly rent for PM expenses during cash flow analysis. Not my first multiunit as I have 5 years of landlord experience in Baltimore, but it IS my first one in DC and my agent (good friend) recommended against self-managing it as DCHA policies could be challenging to navigate.

@Russell Brazil: I’m a big follower of yours and I’d greatly appreciate any insight you can provide!