tenant rights

Photo by PoPville flickr user John Sonderman

“Dear PoPville,

My landlord recently filed in the fall for VAT exemption to our rent-controlled apartment. 4 things allow you to qualify to no longer be a rent controlled apt which one of them is:

Owned by a natural person (i.e., not a corporation) who owns no more than four rental units in the District.

Since our lease ends and goes month to month starting in Feb., he expects us to pay $200 more a month – around a 9% rent increase. Is there anything we can do since he JUST FILED to get it exempt which makes me wonder why file now? We had been living there for 2 years how is that fair? I wanted to ask the community if they had dealt with this before – living in an apartment for 2 years when your lease is about to be up and go month to month and they just spring this increase on you and if I have any options to fight it? Any guidance would be most appreciated!”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville,

My annual rent increase and lease renewal paperwork recently arrived. They are proposing a 15% increase, supposedly to bring our unit more in line with the market rate. However, we took over a former tenant’s lease last year and we know that they had been asked for only a 1% rent increase in the year prior. I am wondering if we have any recourse to get the building to adhere closer to that 1% (the unit is not rent controlled and never was)? The building has made no improvements so there is no other justification for the big hike.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

I leased an apartment in a large building last year for $1450 a month. I recently received notice that my rent is increasing to $1495, in accordance with DC rent control procedures. However, the same building is currently advertising units identical to mine for $1275 + one month free rent (so about $1160). I plan to approach management about signing a new lease at this lower rent (I’m month-to-month as of next January) but was wondering if the Popville hive-mind has any thoughts on whether I have any legal basis to insist my rent better reflect market value. Does DC law prohibit rent increases where market value is clearly lower than the current rent? Any thoughts would be appreciated!”

Photo by PoPville flickr user brunofish

“Dear PoPville,

My property management company Nest unexpectedly announced that they are changing our roommate swap policy. Now every time my group house changes roommates we will forfeit our portion of the security deposit instead of paying a flat $200 change fee. Nest argues that we are expected to come and go as a group, but this runs totally contrary to the group house dynamic in DC. No one who lives in the house even signed the original lease in 2013 — we were all added in addendums. This backdoor fee hike is asking a lot of us and I expect a lot of group houses will break apart before the new policy takes effect. My question to the community is whether there is anything in DC’s tenant law that would protect us from this unwelcome surprise?”

Full policy change announcement letter after the jump. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Andrew Pasko-Reader

“Dear PoPville,

I am moving into a 1-bedroom apartment next month. When I visited the apartment this summer I was told all utilities are included. When I received my lease, I found out no utilities are included. Plus, I will be billed for water, sewer, trash, and “central boiler”. Water and sewer bills will be billed based on sub meters. (I called DC Water, the building is not sub metered.) Trash and “central boiler” will be billed based on apartment SF and number of occupants. How common is it in DC for buildings to bill separately for water, sewer, trash, and “central boiler”? Is it legal to bill for water and sewer, if units are not sub metered?

FWIW, there are about 200 1- and 2- bedroom units in the circa mid-1980s building. I have asked for an estimate monthly billing for these four utilities.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Olaf Zerbock

“Dear PoPville,

We’ve recently moved out of a rental unit in a Columbie Heights row home. We’ve been just shy of harassing our property management company to respond to our inquires regarding the status of our security deposit. Our Property Manager has not responded to us in over a month and if he does not follow up within next few days we are conferring legal action. I’ve been looking up statutes and it looks like if he fails to notify or pay us within 45 days we can demand release of the entire amount of the security deposit, according to DC regulations. Here’s the relevant rule: (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user James Crane

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering if anyone knew if a landlord can charge you for cleaning/maintenance fees after you’ve moved out if they weren’t stipulated in your lease or move-out letter. I paid $250 to move into a building back in 2012 and recently moved out due to the horrible management (this is not an isolated incident; long-time tenants of my building are moving out in droves) but was never required to pay a security deposit. This new management company (Alvin L. Aubinoe – run!) is the third one to take over since I moved in, and the fourth overall. When I asked for a copy of the move-out policy (at least three times) the property manager didn’t provide it. After never receiving anything and securing a new place, I submitted my 30-day notice and received an acknowledgment letter. The letter outlined the basics – return your keys, don’t leave anything in the apartment, clean the fridge and stove. I did all of these things, returned the keys, and never heard anything for over a month.

Over the weekend I received a letter from my ex-landlord with photos of my stove and freezer, and a broken kitchen cabinet latch that had been broken for a LONG time, along with a bill for $400 (a $300 cleaning fee and $100 for the broken latch).I had asked previous management companies to fix it to no avail, and the new company had done three inspections in the past six months (including one for “improvements”) but didn’t fix it. I was present during all of these inspections and they saw it, and acknowledged it – but never did anything to fix it. I also don’t believe wiping down a freezer and oven (not stove) would cost $300 and if so, shouldn’t they have mentioned that in my move-out letter?

My partner and I went above and beyond to clean the apartment, including abating the mold in the bathroom ourselves – something they ignored for some time.

While I am not against paying reasonable, and warranted, fees, I believe if I am not contractually obligated to under my lease, they should have at minimum provided me with this potential fee in writing.

This rental company has been a horror to work with, and my building went downhill FAST since they took over in October 2016. Packages were stolen, the property manager screamed at my partner on the phone after he asked a simple question, and she ignored my emails and shrugged off my requests. (more…)