How to evicted somebody from my rental unit in Washington DC that never had a lease or agreement?: There are some people in my rental unit that was never given permission, or has a lease. What can I do to have them removed with out going to court?
Aaron’s answer: All evictions in DC MUST go through the court.
Can a month-to-month lease (following lease expiration) require a tenant to give 60 days notice in DC? : My original 12 month lease ended over a year ago and, per DC law, became a month-to-month lease. My landlord now wants to raise the rent to market rate and I am thinking of leaving. However, I've now noticed that there is a clause requiring that I give 60 days notice to end the tenancy. Is this legal/legit in DC given that DC law requires things to go month-to-month? This is more like a bi-monthly renewal. Practically speaking, 60 days makes it difficult for me to move: I either give notice now and hope that I can find an apartment when the time comes (it's hard to postpone leasing a new unit for 2 months), or I need to pay double rent for at least a month in order to secure a new apartment. Finally, if 60 days is enforceable, does my landlord have to give me 30 days or 60 days notice to raise the rent?
Aaron’s answer:
The answer to this question is found in the Residential Lease Clarification Amendment Act of 2016.
It states in relevant part:
Sec. 533. Notice of tenant's intent to vacate upon the expiration of an initial lease term.
Any provision that requires a tenant to provide more than a 30-day notice to the housing
provider of the tenant's intention to vacate the premises upon the expiration of an initial lease
term shall be void and unenforceable, unless the lease explicitly states that the provision expires
upon the expiration of the initial lease term, and that, unless the tenant agrees to sign a renewal
lease of other than month-to-month, the tenant thereafter has the right to vacate the premises
upon a 30-day notice for so long as the tenant remains a tenant from month-to-month.
Sec. 534. Notice of tenant's intent to vacate after the expiration of the signed lease term,
renewal or extension term.
(a) A residential tenancy from month-to-month may be terminated by a 30-day notice in
writing only from the tenant to the housing provider of the tenant's intention to quit. The notice
shall expire on the first day of the first month at least 30 days after the date of the notice.
(b) A housing provider shall not place or cause to be placed in a residential lease or
rental agreement a requirement that the tenant provide more than a 30-day notice to the housing
provider of the tenant's intention to vacate the premises, unless the lease or agreement also
requires the housing provider to provide the tenant with a written notice of any rent increase that
is at least 15 days more than that time period.
Rules of Evidence for text messages in small claims court?: I have a situation where a former landlord routinely gave notice for rental increase via text messages. To end my month to month tenancy I also gave notice via text message, which she acknowledged via text message as sufficient. She now claims my notice was deficient after I moved out. What are the rules for admitting text messages as evidence if I were to file suit against her in small claims court?
Aaron’s answer: Text messages from your landlord should be admissible as statements by a party opponent in any court.