Lease Terminations

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Are you a residential tenant in the District of Columbia needing to terminate your lease early? If so, here are some laws and court decisions that may be relevant:

STATUTES

  • D.C. Code 42-3505.52 (a landlord has a duty to mitigate damages, after the tenant breaches the lease)

  • Fair Housing Act, 42 USC § 3601 et seq. and D.C. Human Rights Act, D.C. Code 2-1401 et seq. (a landlord may be required to permit termination of a lease as a reasonable accommodation for a disability)

  • D.C. Code 42-3505.07 (lease can be terminated where tenant is victim of intrafamily offense)

  • 50 USC § 3955 (lease can be terminated if necessary, where tenant is active duty military)

  • D.C. Code 42-3201 (a tenant normally is not required to give notice of an intent to terminate a lease for a specific term, at the end of the lease term). CAUTION: a lease provision may override this statute.

  • D.C. Code 42-3505.53 (related to lease provisions requiring tenants to give notice of intent to vacate upon the expiration of an initial lease term)

  • D.C. Code 42-3505.54 (related to lease provisions requiring tenants to give notice of intent to vacate after the expiration of the signed lease term, renewal or extension term)

  • D.C. Code 47-2828(a) (requires owners of residential buildings in which apartments or rooms are offered for rent to obtain a license)

Regulations

  • 14 DCMR 302 (lease is void if a property was unsafe or unsanitary at the start of the tenancy, or becomes unsafe/unsanitary and landlord doesn’t make necessary repairs)

  • 14 DCMR 800 (includes examples of "insanitary matters")

  • 14 DCMR 200 (No person shall operate a housing business in any premises in the District of Columbia without first receiving a basic business license for the premises by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs)

Cases

  • Sklar v. Hightower, 342 A.2d 57, 59 (D.C. 1975) (landlord's oral notice to vacate in less than thirty days if tenant refused rent increase, followed by tenant's oral acceptance of notice to vacate, resulted in landlord's waiver of tenant's obligation to give thirty-day written notice of intention to vacate).

  • Hughes v. Westchester Dev. Corp., 77 F.2d 550, 551 (D.C. 1935) (to constitute constructive eviction, “the landlord must have done, or be responsible for, some act of a permanent character with the intention and effect of depriving the tenant of the enjoyment of the demised premises or a part thereof.”)

  • District Cablevision v. Bassin, 828 A.2d 714 (D.C. 2003) (liquidated damages clause in a lease is unenforceable when it is so high it is a penalty; it must be a reasonable estimate of the damages the landlord is likely to sustain, as calculated at time of contracting.)

  • Keuroglian v. Wilkins, 88 A.2d 581, 581–82 (D.C. 1952) (“[W]hen parties contract for a definite lease term no notice to quit need be given when the term expires, for the obvious reason that the parties have decided in advance when possession shall come to an end.” )