DC Housing Expo at Washington Convention Center Saturday June 2 from 10 am- 3pm

The District Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Greater Washington Urban League are hosting a free housing expo this Saturday. The programs range from workshops on the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act to minor home repair demonstrations. Take a look at the flyer here: http://dhcd.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dhcd/event_content/attachments/4thAnnualHousingExpo.pdf

It looks like a good way to spend a Saturday if you're a DC landlord or tenant trying to get a little more information, meet DC officials, or network. I'll be there and I hope to meet some of you.

How can DC landlords respond to a Housing Conditions Court Complaint?

If you're a DC landlord, you may receive a Summons and Complaint from a branch of DC Superior Court called Housing Conditions Court.  This relatively new court allows tenants to bring their landlords to court for failing to make repairs. DCRA assigns inspectors to the court and they oversee the repairs. The tenant can't sue for money but they can use this court to estabish the Housing Code violations and use the evidence they gather against you later in a counterclaim to a non-payment of rent case, in a tenant petition, or in a civil suit.  The stakes are higher than you may be led to believe so act carefully. Enough warnings, now some practical advice, if you're a landlord and you get one of these complaints, what should you do?  

1) Schedule an inspection of the tenant's apartment or house to determine if repairs need to be made and to establish you are willing to make them.

2) If there are things you can get done before the first court date, do them. Don't get stuck in anger about the tenant's failure to tell you about the problems before taking you to court, just get it done so you can get the case dismissed as quickly as possible. This is your opportunity to create an evidentiary record that you respond quickly and professionally to repair requests. Taking the high road isn't just the right thing, it also protects you in any future litigation.  

3) If there is a larger underlying issue, lead paint, serious plumbing problems, etc., that may require the tenants be out of the unit while you fix the problems, be prepared to provide another place for them to stay. Work with your contractors to get a strict timeline for any repairs that need to be completed with tenants out of the unit and do everything in your power to stick to that timeline. 

4) If there are a lot of things to do and they take time, ordering parts or extermination over time, show progress.  This court cares most that you show progress. Don't do nothing while waiting for a part for the boiler. Do whatever you can do so that at the next status hearing you can show that you have made progress.  

5) Call the judge's chambers between hearings to address problems with access for repairs, unforeseen delays, and any other serious issues that come up. The judge may schedule a phone conference or not, but at least they will be aware of the situation. 

6) Always consider the tenant's motivation in filing and as the case goes on.  Do they want a rent reduction?  Are they just frustrated with the repair process?  How responsive are you and anyone working on your behalf to complaints?  Is the tenant using this process to create an evidentiary record for future litigation?  

7) If you are an individual landlord with serious financial problems, tell the court. The court will require you give them some serious financial records, but if they find you are financially unable to make the repairs, you can't be forced to do so.  

If you are an individual landlord you can appear in Housing Conditions Court without an attorney.  If you decide you want legal advice or representation, contact us and if we can't help we will try to direct you to someone who can. 

How Important are Credit Scores in Tenant Screening?

Mint.com has posted an article about renting with poor credit. While large corporate landlords often use credit scores to screen tenants, it isn't necessarily a useful shortcut and it certainly can't give a landlord a complete picture of whether or not the person will be a good tenant.

Credit scores have limitations for landlords because, as I noted in an earlier post, most unpaid rent never makes it to credit reports. Even if that system improves, in many situations the landlords want the property back, not the money, so they will never be motivated to report unpaid rent to credit agencies. Determining if a tenant is likely to pay the rent requiring verifying employment, talking to previous landlords, looking for previous judgments for non-payment of rent, and if appropriate requesting a co-signer.

But many landlords are not screening tenants at all for other potential problems. Consider checking criminal records, with the applicants signed release. Landlords should also talk to previous landlords about what the person was like as a tenant. While you may not get a complete answer, you might get some useful information.

Always be certain to follow Fair Housing Laws in your tenant selection process. By relying on a variety of criteria, not just a credit report, landlords can make better choices and tenants with credit problems have an opportunity to show that a low credit score isn't the whole picture.

Why Are Tenants Evicted?: Non-Redeemable vs. Redeemable Judgments in DC Landlord/Tenant Court

When a tenant fails to pay rent, many landlords will call an attorney seeking to evict the tenant.  In reality, non-payment of rent can usually only lead to a judgment for possession with the right of redemption, commonly known as the right to “pay and stay.”  So how do tenants get evicted?  Here is a list.

1)   A Judgment for Possession with the Right of Redemption Which the Tenant Fails to Redeem

A landlord can get a judgment with the right of redemption, sometimes also called a Trans-Lux amount in DC.  The judgment amount in DC usually consists of the unpaid rent at the time of the judgment, any late fees allowed by the court, court costs, usually around $25, and the writ fee, if the landlord gets a writ, $186.  The amount of the judgment increases whenever new rent becomes due, so if a landlord gets a judgment for March rent on March 21^st, on April 1^st, that judgment amount will increase by one month of rent.  If the tenant fails to pay the full amount due by the time the eviction is complete, the tenant loses the right to redeem and cannot return to the property. 

2)   A Judgment for Lease Violation

If the landlord gives the tenant a notice for lease violations of anything other than non-payment of rent, such as noise, housekeeping, or illegal subletting, and gets a judgment, that judgment will be non-redeemable, because there is no rent to pay. 

3)   A Judgment for Repeated, Persistent Late Payment of Rent

If a tenant has a habit of paying rent late, a landlord can give the tenant a notice for repeated, persistent late payment of rent.  The tenant then must pay on time to cure the problem and stay in the property.  If they don’t, the landlord can sue for eviction.  These notices are complicated, often rejected by judges even of done correctly, and should be done by an attorney.  However, if you have a tenant who has paid rent late over a period of time, this might be an option.   

4)   By Agreement

The tenant can also agree to make a redeemable judgment non-redeemable, usually by signing what’s known as a pay-on-time agreement, as part of a payment plan.  These must be worded carefully, the tenant must understand what they are signing, they must go in front of a judge to have the agreement approved, and many judges will not approve the agreement unless the tenant has talked to an attorney or at least been advised to talk to one.  In reality, that means that much of the time pay-on-time addendums are not approved and they can even derail a payment plan that would have otherwise been approved.  It is best to only attempt a pay-on-time addendum when represented by an attorney, an attorney with landlord/tenant experience can tell you if the agreement is likely to be approved. 

Tenants who pay late or fail to pay and then pay off judgments repeatedly understandably frustrate landlords.  An experienced landlord/tenant attorney can often help figure out the source of the problem and help the landlord decide how to proceed to minimize continued litigation.  

Banks Make Bad Landlords

According to a recent NPR story, the number of bank-owned properties with tenants is increasing and the banks are proving to be poor landlords.  This is no surprise in DC, where tenants have always had the right to stay in a property after a foreclosure, and banks have never been known as excellent caretakers.  Why?  Banks have no long-term interest in the condition of the properties or their relationship with the tenants and they have no mechanism for managing rentals. 

Professional property management companies could assist the banks, but most are set up for long contracts with owners.  Banks usually don’t plan to own the rentals for long enough to bother with property management contracts, but end up owning them for long enough to irritate tenants and have properties fall into disrepair. 

Large banks often fail to get local landlord/tenant counsel when they have problems with tenants or attempt to sell buildings and therefore fail to follow local rules and get involved in protracted legal battles.   DC landlord/tenant court is especially complex for landlords and can be unfriendly to attorneys who have little or no experience there.

The type of dialogue between banks and tenants the NPR story describes is never going to be helpful until banks start accepting their roles as landlords and either taking responsibility for these properties or selling them to owners who will.  The larger problem in DC are the laws banks must follow to sell the buildings and the unwillingness of buyers to purchase buildings with angry tenants and few records of who lives in the building, what rent is due, or what repairs need to be made.  But then, perhaps we must remind the banks of the saying “you broke it, you bought it.”