(a) Tenants have the right to self-organization; to form, join, meet, or assist one another within or without tenant organizations; to meet and confer through representatives of their own choosing with landlords; to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of mutual aid and protection; and to refrain from any such activity.
(b) Tenants and tenant organizations have the right of free assembly in the meeting rooms and other areas suitable for meetings within rental housing during reasonable hours and upon reasonable notice to the landlord to conduct tenant organization meetings. A landlord must not charge a tenant organization or a group of tenants seeking to form a tenant organization a fee for the first meeting of each month held to discuss landlord- tenant issues, but the landlord may charge a reasonable fee for other uses of the meeting rooms or common areas. The charge must not exceed the regular schedule of fees for the facility to other groups. The landlord may also impose reasonable terms and conditions on the use of the meeting rooms or common areas if those terms and conditions do not undermine the purposes of this Section.
(c) Tenants and resident tenant organizations have the right to distribute freely and post in centrally located areas of rental housing literature concerning landlord-tenant issues if the origin of the literature is properly identified.
(d) Tenant organizations may file complaints under any provision of this Chapter in a representative capacity on behalf of those tenants who have authorized representation. Nothing in this Chapter permits any tenants' organization to represent exclusively any tenant or class of tenants unless specifically authorized to do so. (1978 L.M.C., ch. 12, § 1; 1979 L.M.C., ch. 56, § 11; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 1; 1981 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 1982 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 1; 1984 L.M.C., ch. 30, § 2; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 13, § 1; 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 39, § 1.)
Editor's note—Section 29-33, formerly § 29-30C, was renumbered and amended pursuant to 2000 L.M.C., ch. 32, § 1. Former Section 29-30C appeared in the 1978 Cumulative Supplement as section 29-60. This section was renumbered as section 20-30C by 1979 L.M.C., ch. 56, § 11. 1982 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 2, reads as follows: "Sec. 2. Retroactivity. The provisions of this Act shall be retroactive to apply to any and all notices of rent increase issued on or after May 8, 1981, provided, however, that a violation of this section shall not be subject to any criminal penalties."