Make your Free
District of Columbia Eviction Notice

A Washington DC Eviction Notice allows property owners and managers to advise a renter of impending legal action if they do not pay their overdue rent, adhere to the terms of the rental agreement that they signed, or leave the property as requested. By making this essential notice, you'll be able to exercise your rights, while still giving your tenant(s) the opportunity to fix the issue at hand within a specified time frame. With that in mind, in some cases, there is no resolution, and going to court is unavoidable. Suitable for any residential property, our Eviction Notice for the District of Columbia can be used by landlords with tenants in Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, and in all of the other neighborhoods throughout the nation's capital.

Under normal circumstances, yes. You may use a Washington DC Eviction Notice (specifically referred to as a 30-Day Nonpayment Notice to Quit) to kick off the process. That said, due to the pandemic, there are some limitations in place. Despite the fact that the federal ban was struck down by the Supreme Court, the District of Columbia is able to maintain its own standards for residential evictions. Check out the latest developments for the District of Columbia or talk to a local landlord-tenant lawyer, if you are still unsure.

If you wish to legally remove a tenant from your rental property, it may be a good idea to deliver them a Notice of Eviction first. Even if it isn't always required by law, this document can help you avoid going to court (assuming the tenant will comply.) Some of the reasons behind why you may want to use one are:

• The tenant is continuously late to pay their rent or payments have fallen behind schedule
• The tenant has caused unreasonable damage
• The tenant disturbs the quiet enjoyment of their neighbors
• The tenant is using their unit for an illegal operation
• The tenant violates the no-pets policy of your rental contract
• The tenant gets a subletter in breach of the rental terms

In addition to violations, a tenant generally may be evicted by a landlord for other reasons unrelated to a fault of their own, such as when the property owner intends to move in. Keep in mind that the list shown above is not comprehensive and the legally permitted reasons for evicting a tenant are subject to change by city or municipality, among other determining factors. If you've got any questions or concerns related to District of Columbia eviction laws, you can always talk to an attorney.

When ready, you can tap or click "Make document" to check out our Washington DC Eviction Notice sample. The specific details to add are:

• The address and description of the property
• The lessee's contact information
• How many past due rent payments need to be made (if appropriate)
• Which of the lease provisions are not being met
• How much time the tenant will have to remedy the situation

In the event that the tenants are not in the wrong, you may wish to add more context. With the document tool, you have the ability to implement more personalized editing, if necessary. It is important to verify that any policies and terms that you make note of are actually present in the tenancy agreement that was signed by all parties.

Eviction laws continually evolve over time and the actual legal process and restrictions can be relatively nuanced, especially for a first-timer. In some cases, there will be varying notice periods and other requirements depending on the reason for evicting the tenant and how long they have occupied the property. With that in mind, it is recommended that every property owner consult a local eviction lawyer before serving a Notice of Eviction on any tenant.

Fortunately, you do not have to start from scratch when writing your document. When using Rocket Lawyer, any landlord or property manager is able to create Washington DC Eviction Notices online very easily. Your document will be built section by section as you enter more details throughout the process. This solution is, in many cases, notably more affordable and convenient than working with a traditional attorney.

If you want to know the complete cost of eviction, you'll need to take into consideration the fees associated with filing court documents, legal fees, the value of unrecovered rent payments, storage and/or cleaning fees, and ultimately the time and money spent finding new tenants. The great news is you will not have to pay hundreds of dollars in legal fees to generate your Notice of Eviction. Unlike many other sites that you may stumble upon, Rocket Lawyer offers much more than an eviction form. If you proceed with an eviction lawsuit, your Rocket Lawyer membership offers up to 40% in savings when you hire an attorney from our network.

The length of the eviction process for the District of Columbia usually will depend on the amount of notice required, in addition to the total volume of cases being held at the same time. Here is an overview of District of Columbia notice periods:

• Rent-related: 30-day notice unless the tenant's right to notice was waived in the lease
• Rental agreement violations: 30-day notice
• No fault of the tenant(s): 60- to 180-day notice depending on the reason for eviction

After your notice period, the actual eviction may still take up to 7 months. It is important to note that with particular kinds of housing, for instance where rent payments are subsidized, the mandatory notice period is often even longer.

While it is possible to create a Notice to Quit without support, the majority of landlords who take tenants to court have an attorney to represent them. Depending on whom you reach out to, some lawyers may not even accept requests to review documents that they did not work on. A better approach to consider is to request help from attorney services at Rocket Lawyer. As a Premium member, you have the ability to request guidance from an experienced attorney or send other questions about your DC Eviction Notice. We're always here to help.

When you are finished completing a Washington DC Eviction Notice using Rocket Lawyer, you will be able to retrieve it from your account at any time and place. Feel free to interact with the document by making edits, copying it, downloading it as a Word or PDF file, and printing it out. You must sign it before it is served on the tenant. You have several options for serving a notice:

• Work with a third-party process server
• Send it via certified mail with a return receipt
• Deliver the notice in person

Please remember that "do-it-yourself" evictions are illegal in the District of Columbia. Property owners shouldn't change locks, turn off utilities and services, throw out personal property, or harass and threaten their tenants in any way in order to make them move out. Acting lawfully before and during the eviction proceedings will give you the best chance of removing tenants successfully with a final judgment from the court.