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District of Columbia Tenant Bill of Rights The Tenant Bill of Rights Amendment Act of 2014 ,
effective December 17, 2014 (D.C.
Law 20-147; D.C. Official Code §§
42-3531.07(8) & 42-3502.22(b)(1)) requires the D.C. Office of
Tenant Advocate to publish a “D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights” to be
updated periodically and noticed in the D.C.
Register. This
document is not exhaustive and is intended to provide tenants with an
overview of the basic rights of tenancy in the District.
Except for rent control, all these rights apply to every tenant
in the District. 1.
LEASE: A
written lease is not
required to establish a tenancy. If
there is one, the landlord must provide you with a copy of the lease
and all addendums. The
landlord must also provide you with copies of certain District housing
regulations, including those for Landlord & Tenant relations. Certain
lease clauses are prohibited, including waiver of landlord liability for failing to properly
maintain the property. The landlord may not change the terms of your
lease without your agreement. After the initial
lease term expires, you have the right to continue your tenancy
month-to-month indefinitely on the same terms, except for lawful rent
increases. (14 DCMR §§ 101, 106 & 300-399) 2.
SECURITY DEPOSIT: The
amount of the security deposit may not exceed the amount of 1
month’s rent. The
landlord must place your security deposit in an interest-bearing
account. The landlord must
post notices stating where the security deposit is held and the
prevailing interest rate. If
there is a “move-out” inspection, the landlord must notify you of
the date and time. Within
45 days after you vacate the apartment, the landlord must either
return your security deposit with interest, or provide you with
written notice that the security deposit will be used to defray
legitimate expenses (which must be itemized within 30 more days). (14 DCMR §§
308-311) 3.
DISCLOSURE
OF INFORMATION:
Upon receiving your
application to lease an apartment, the landlord must disclose: (a) the
applicable rent for the rental unit; (b)
any pending petition that could affect the rent (if
rent control applies); (c)
any surcharges on the rent and the date they expire
(if rent control applies); (d)
the rent control or exempt status of the
accommodation; (e)
certain housing code violation reports; (f)
the amount of any non-refundable application fee,
security deposit, and interest rate; (g)
any pending condo or coop conversion; (h)
ownership and business license information; (i)
either a
3-year history of “mold contamination” (as defined) in the unit
and common areas, or proof of proper remediation; and (j) a copy of
this D.C. Tenant Bill of Rights document. The
landlord must make this information accessible to you throughout your
tenancy. Upon a tenant’s
request once per year, the landlord must also disclose the amount of,
and the basis for, each rent increase for the prior 3 years. (D.C.
Official Code §§ 42-3502.22 & .13(d)) 4.
RECEIPTS
FOR RENTAL PAYMENTS:
The landlord must
provide you with a receipt for any money paid, except where the
payment is made by personal check and
is in full satisfaction of all amounts due.
The receipt must state the purpose and the date of the payment,
as well as the amount of any money that remains due. (14 DCMR § 306) 5.
RENT INCREASES:
“Rent control” limits the amount and the frequency
of rent increases. For
units that are exempt from rent control, generally only the lease
terms limit rent increases. If
rent control applies,
the landlord may not raise the rent: (a) unless the owner and manager
are properly licensed and registered; (b) unless the unit and common
areas substantially comply with the housing code; (c) more frequently
than once every 12 months; (d) by more than the Consumer Price Index
(CPI)
for
an elderly tenant (age 62 or over) or tenant with a disability,
regardless of income, if registered with the Rent Administrator; (e)
by more than the CPI + 2% for all other tenants.
A rent increase larger than (d) or (e) requires government
approval of a landlord petition, which tenants may challenge.
You also may challenge a rent increase implemented within the
prior 3 years. 6.
BUILDING CONDITIONS: The landlord must ensure
that your unit and all common areas are safe and sanitary as of the
first day of your tenancy. This
is known as the “warranty of
habitability.” The landlord must
maintain your apartment and all common areas of the building in
compliance with the housing code, including keeping the premises safe
and secure and free of rodents and pests, keeping the structure and
facilities of the building in good repair, and ensuring adequate heat,
lighting, and ventilation. The
tenant has the right to receive a copy of a notice of violation issued
to the landlord (14 DCMR
§§
106; 301; & 400-999) 7.
LEAD
PAINT HAZARD:
For properties built prior to 1978, the landlord must (a) provide a
prospective tenant household with a form issued by the District
Department of the Environment about their rights under the D.C. lead
laws; (b) provide a current lead-safe “clearance report” to (i) a
prospective tenant household that includes a child less than 6 years
of age or a pregnant woman, (ii) an in-place tenant household that
gains such a person and requests the report in writing from the
landlord, and (iii) any tenant household regularly visited by such a
person; and (c) disclose to a tenant household what the landlord
reasonably should know about the presence in the tenant’s unit of a
lead-based paint hazard or of lead-based paint, which is presumed to
be present unless there is documentation showing otherwise.
(20 DCMR §§ 3300 et seq.) 8.
MOLD:
Upon written
notice from a tenant that mold or suspected mold exists in the unit or
a common area, the landlord must inspect the premises within 7 days
and remediate within 30 days. Mold
assessment and remediation must be performed in compliance with
District regulations. (D.C.
Official Code § 8-241) 9.
QUIET ENJOYMENT AND RETALIATION:
The landlord may not unreasonably interfere with the tenant’s
comfort, safety or enjoyment of a rental unit, whether for the purpose
of causing the housing accommodation to become vacant or otherwise (D.C.
Official Code § 42-3402.10). The landlord may not
retaliate against you for exercising any right of tenancy.
Retaliation includes unlawfully seeking to recover possession
of your unit, to increase the rent, to decrease services or increase
your obligations; and also includes violating your privacy, harassing
you, or refusing to honor your lease. (D.C. Official Code
§ 42-3505.02) 10.
DISCRIMINATION:
The landlord may not
engage in discriminatory acts based upon the actual or perceived: race,
color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, genetic
information, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity
or expression, familial status, family responsibilities, disability,
matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, status as a
victim of an intra-family offense, or place of residence or business
of any individual. Discriminatory
acts include refusing to rent; renting on unfavorable terms,
conditions, or privileges; creating a hostile living environment; and
refusing to make reasonable accommodations to give a person an equal
opportunity to use and enjoy the premises. (D.C. Official Code
§ 2-1401.01 et seq.) 11.
RIGHT
TO ORGANIZE: The landlord may not interfere with the right of
tenants to organize a tenant association, convene meetings, distribute
literature, post information, and provide building access to an
outside tenant organizer. (D.C.
Official Code § 42-3505.06) 12.
SALE
AND CONVERSION: Tenants must be given the opportunity to purchase
an accommodation before the landlord sells or demolishes the
accommodation or discontinues the housing use.
The landlord may not convert the rental accommodation to a
cooperative or condominium unless a majority of the tenants votes for
the conversion in a tenant election certified by the District’s
Conversion and Sale Administrator. (D.C. Official Code §§ 42-3404.02
& 42-3402.02) 13.
RELOCATION ASSISTANCE: If
you are displaced by alterations or renovations, substantial
rehabilitation, demolition, or the discontinuance of the housing use,
you may have the right to receive relocation assistance from your
landlord. (D.C. Official Code § 42-3507.01) 14.
EVICTION: The landlord may
evict you only for one of ten specific reasons set forth in Title V of
the Rental Housing Act of 1985. For
example, you may not be
evicted just because your lease term expires, or because the rental
property has been sold or foreclosed upon. Even
if there is a valid basis to evict you, the landlord may not use
“self-help” methods to do so, such as cutting
off your utilities or changing the locks. Rather, the landlord must go through the judicial process.
You generally must be given a written Notice to Vacate (an
exception is non-payment of rent where you waive the right to notice
in the lease); an opportunity to cure the lease violation, if that is
the basis for the action; and an opportunity to challenge the
landlord’s claims in court. Finally,
any eviction must be pursuant to a court order, and must be scheduled
and supervised by the U.S. Marshal Service.
(D.C.
Official Code § 42-3505.01)
I/We,
______________________________, confirm that I/We have received a
Tenant Bill of Rights and Responsibilities Form on (insert date):
________________________.
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