tenant rights

Photo by PoPville flickr user Andrew Pasko-Reader

“Dear PoPville,

Trying to find out what my rights are as the tenant and what my landlord could do on his side.

Basically, I sent my 30 days notice to the property manager, which he acknowledged. He asked me to tell him when he could do the move-out inspection and I emailed asking if it had to be a weekday or could be a weekend and also asking that they give me notice before showing the apartment since I have a dog (even offered to help show it so the owner didn’t have to come down from NY). No response. I email a week later asking again and offering a few dates that work. Still no response. I finally email again on the 7th of the new month asking when they can do it so i can get my deposit back and they schedule for the next morning.

Fast forward EXACTLY 45 days to last friday (when they need to return the deposit by law) and I get an email saying that because I didn’t “turn in my keys” until the 8th, they’re keeping a week of rent. (more…)

Photo by PoPville flickr user Chris Williams

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve tried reaching out to DCRA, OTA, and am thinking about paying DC Tenants for a consultation, but I thought maybe the PoPville community would have some insights.

I’ve been a 9 year renter of a unit from The United House of Prayer that has several floor to ceiling walls made up of window panels (like a lot of Suzane Reatig’s designs). Over the past year, several of the large and small window panels have captured fog and condensation in between the panes, most likely indicating a broken seal and leak of the filler gas. For the last 11 months I’ve been trying to get the landlord to fix or replace the windows, but they are being a combination of non-responsive and outright refusing to address it.

Do I have any rights here as a tenant to have them fixed? The cosmetic side is bothersome as I’d like to be able to see clearly through my windows, but there’s also the concern that the seals are broken and they’re probably far less energy efficient than they should be.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Elvert Barnes

“Dear PoPville,

I just received notice that my landlord is going to add a processing fee to my monthly charge for rent, beginning with the April 1 payment. The fee varies depending on whether I pay by electronic transfer, check/debit card, or credit card.

I live in a rent-controlled building, and my rent goes up only once per year. The last time my rent went up, it went up the maximum amount.

Are there any problems with this new fee? I wonder whether it’s an impermissible mid-year rent increase, or it increases my rent beyond the allowed amount. Or maybe there’s a problem with charging processing different fees for different forms of payment, although I think Congress changed the law on that a few years ago.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

“Dear PoPville,

I have an issue I’d like to get some feedback on. I live in a not-to-be-named large building at 14th and Newton run by a not-to-be-named large property management company. I just reached the end of my 12-month lease at the end of December, and I opted to go month to month. The management company is charging me $250/month to go month to month. The fee would be waived if I signed a lease. Is this legal?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin

“Dear PoPville,

My boyfriend and I recently received notice from our landlord that our large, lovely patio, the sole reason we decided to rent the unit, will be undergoing 18+ weeks of construction to repair brick damage from the DC earthquake a few years back. We can’t go out on the patio for the entire 18 weeks, and will need to leave our blinds closed due to dust and falling brick risk. We recently moved into the building, so are very frustrated none of this was shared with us prior to moving in: we wouldn’t have signed a lease if we knew we’d be living in a construction zone for 4-5 months so soon after moving.

We think we are entitled to a rent reduction to make up for the patio loss, noise, and dust we’ll be experiencing – we determined the price per square foot we pay for the patio, and want it removed from our rent. Do we have any legal rights to ask for this financial concession? We’ve emailed the DC Office of Tenant Advocacy but have yet to hear back. Has anyone else out there had a similar experience? Thank you for any advice!”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Victoria Pickering

“Dear PoPville,

I live in an apartment on Corcoran St. NW and have been having repeated issues with moisture in walls and floor and now mold. Over the past two years, when I reported it, the landlord came and cleaned the affected areas and repainted them. The underlying sources of the moisture is still there (the apartment is partially underground), and I am now having respiratory issues (asthma basically).

DC passed a law last summer called the Air Quality Amendment Act of 2014. Although DCRA housing inspectors still do not inspect for mold (just moisture), the law now requires landlords to inspect for mold within 7 days of written notification and to remediate within 30 days if it is determined that the mold meets the threshold as defined by the law. Failure to meet these requirements allows the tenant to file a complaint in housing court and enables them to be awarded certain damages.

In my situation, I am still waiting to hear back from the landlord, but my concern is that they will “inspect” within the 7 day threshold and then claim that the mold doesn’t meet the requirements in the law for a professional remediation, proceed to clean it, and repaint the affected areas again, and then be off the hook.

So my questions are:
1) Does anyone have any experience with mold/resolving mold issues since this law took effect?
2) Should I have a professional inspection done to have definitive proof of the mold? The court can require the landlord to reimburse me if I take the landlord to court. The law also states that if I provide a written report of a professional inspection, this creates a rebuttable presumption that the landlord must have it professionally remediated, thus forcing action more quickly.
3) Should I file the complaint in housing court NOW given the time it will take to serve the landlord and to get a hearing date? Or do I need to have proof that they have failed to act in accordance with the law first?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

“Dear PoPville,

My husband and I lived in a large fancy apartment building in Mt. Vernon for our first year in DC and had a very good experience there – until we moved out. I’m sure you here many stories about landlords unfairly withholding security deposits for bogus claims and this is one of those stories. However, luckily we have lawyers in the family who were able to remind our landlord of our rights – and get our money back! I thought I’d pass along some of that information to share with others as I know this is a very busy time for moving: (more…)