Tenant Guide to Protective Orders

Tenant Guide to Protective Orders

What is a protective order?

• It is a court order that requires a tenant to pay their rent into the court registry instead of directly to the landlord while the case is ongoing.
• At the end of the case, the money in the court registry is released to the landlord or the tenant depending on the outcome of the case.
• If a protective order is entered, even though your case is ongoing, you will still have to pay your rent to the court.

How do I pay my protective order?

• Protective orders must be paid into the court in one of 3 ways:
• The court will provide you with an info sheet explaining these options

In person

• Deliver to the Landlord Tenant Courthouse: 510 4th St NW, Room 110 M-F, 8:30 - 5:00 Sat, 9:00 - 12:00 W, 6:30 - 8:00

By Mail

• Send a personal check to: Landlord Tenant Court Clerk 510 4th St NW, Room 110 Washington, DC 20001

Electronically

• Only for payments below $1000. Contact landlordandtenantdocket@dcsc.gov or call (202) 879-4879 for access to the portal.

Questions? Call LTLAN (202)-780-2575

How much will I have to pay?

• Usually, your protective order is equal to your monthly rent.
• You may argue that you should pay less because:
  • There are conditions issues in your unit and your landlord has not fixed them, or
  • You think your current rent is incorrect.
• You can ask for a Bell Hearing to set the protective order amount later
  • You can show the judge pictures of the problems or housing code violations in your unit, or evidence of other issues
  • The judge will decide if, & by how much, to lower your payment.

What happens if I pay late or miss a payment?

• If you need to pay your protective order payment late, you can ask the judge for more time to make the payment.
  • You should still pay as soon as you can.
  • You can file a motion to modify the protective order to ask for more time.
  • Your landlord may ask the judge to enter sanctions (or punishments) against you for not paying on time.
• If you miss a payment, your landlord can ask the judge to enter sanctions (or punishments) against you.
  • Sanctions can range from preventing you from asking for a jury trial to entering a judgment in favor of your landlord.
  • If you think you will not be able to make a payment, need more time to pay, or cannot afford your payments going forward, call LTLAN.