30-Day Notice of Past Due Rent and Notice of Intent to File Claim
30-DAY NOTICE OF PAST DUE RENT & NOTICE OF INTENT TO FILE CLAIM is required before you can file an eviction lawsuit against your tenant based on the tenant’s failure to pay rent. D.C. law requires that you give the tenant a chance to become current in rent before you have the right to file a lawsuit to evict the tenant. The tenant must owe a minimum of $600 before you can file an eviction suit.
How to File a Motion to Seal an Eviction Case in DC
The eviction sealing law in DC is divided into two types of sealing. Automatic (done by the court clerks without a request by the tenant) and discretionary (tenant makes a request to the court). Automatic sealing is supposed to be done by the court clerks either when a case is dismissed or 3 years after a judgment is entered if there are no new judgments in that 3 year period.
No Self-Help Eviction Letter
In D.C., your landlord cannot evict you without bringing you to Court and receiving a "judgment for possession." Evictions done without going through this process are called "self-help" evictions, and they are illegal in the District of Columbia. If your landlord tries to do a self-help eviction, they may be responsible for paying you for your property damage plus money damages for breaking the law. If your landlord has threatened to evict you without bringing you to Court and receiving a judgment for possession, this is a letter you can send to them advising them that you know your rights and that the eviction is illegal.
What can tenants do if their building was sold?
This is a letter that you can send to the new owner of the property or the new owner's lawyer. In the District of Columbia, a property owner cannot evict a tenant just because the property was sold at foreclosure. (This is a letter for tenants only. It does not apply to former owners.)