March 19

Update: District of Columbia Superior Court: Coronavirus (COVID19)

The Superior Court of the District of Columbia has amended its March 16, 2020 Order. All non-emergency hearings scheduled before May 15, 2020 will be rescheduled and postponed. All deadlines and time limits in statutes, court rules, and standing orders that would otherwise expire before May 15, 2020 including statutes of limitations, are tolled during the period of the emergency. The courts are still open for filings, though, and some ripe motions are still being ruled upon.

Any obligation of any tenant under a protective order to make payments into the court registry is suspended during the period of the emergency. Tenants should make these payments instead directly to landlords, and a landlord’s acceptance of a direct payment will not prejudice the landlord’s ability to prosecute the action. If a landlord seeks sanctions for violation of a protective order after the public health emergency ends, the court will consider, in addition to other relevant circumstances, exigent circumstances relating to the public health emergency.

All evictions of tenants and foreclosed homeowners on or before May 15, 2020 are stayed.

The Order can be read here.

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March 16

District of Columbia Superior Court: Coronavirus (COVID19)

As of March 16, 2020, the District of Columbia Superior Court has issued an Order regarding how it is dealing with the Coronavirus (COVID19) and pending court cases.

All evictions on or before May 1, 2020 are stayed.

All court hearings currently scheduled on or before May 1, 2020 in many branches of the Civil Division, including Landlord and Tenant, Foreclosure, and Housing Court will be rescheduled. Parties should not appear and the court will set new dates and notify the parties.

Filings will still be accepted through the e-filing system.

Hearings in all other civil matters may be held only by telephone. If all parties and lawyers are not able to participate by telephone, the court will reschedule the hearing. Specifically, our office spoke with the Civil case manager this morning and he indicated that all mediations scheduled for this week will be continued and telephonic mediations will be under consideration in the future.

Other DC agencies are closed or working with limited capabilities. Specifically the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) has cancelled upcoming hearings. The Rental Accommodations Division (RAD) is closed, but exploring ways to have documents file-stamped. The Rental Housing Commission (RHC) is open, but working from afar.

Battino & Sokolow PLLC remains open, albeit with all employees telecommuting. Do not hesitate to call or email us regarding this changing situation. We will do our best to keep you informed. Please be safe.

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July 16

Eviction Procedure Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2018

We recently notified you that the DC Council passed new statutory eviction procedures that would have required landlords to package and store evicted tenants’ belongings. Not even two weeks later, the DC Council passed a new bill that changes the procedures once again. You can download the new bill here: Eviction Procedure Reform Emergency Amendment Act. Gone are the requirements for landlords to move tenants’ personal property to a storage unit. Gone is the cumbersome mechanism of having tenants “opt in” to certain rights. The biggest impacts of the new bill are as follows:

1) Landlords have a new burden to provide posted, electronic, and mailed notices to tenants stating the date and time of a pending eviction, at least 14-days prior to the eviction.
2) At the time of the eviction, landlords must post, and mail to any emergency contact, a second notice, with additional information, including the contact information for the landlord or landlord’s agent.
3) Tenants have 7 days after the eviction, not including Sundays or federal holidays, to retrieve their personal property.
4) Landlords must provide tenants with at least 8 continuous hours of access to the property.
5) Landlords cannot require tenants to pay the rental arrears to access their personal property.
6) Any personal property remaining in the rental unit after 7 days is deemed abandoned.
7) Landlords have the right to sell tenants’ belongings after the 7-day timeframe elapses, but the amounts received must be applied to rent owed. Any additional profit must be refunded to tenants, as would be a security deposit.
8) Importantly, so long as landlords take “reasonable care” to protect the tenants’ items, “The housing provider and anyone acting on behalf of the housing provider shall be immune from civil liability for loss or damage to the evicted tenant’s abandoned property or claims related to its lawful disposal.

These new rules only apply to evictions covered by the Rental Housing Act. Thus, for commercial evictions, or evictions of squatters, any items that remain in the property at the time of the eviction are immediately deemed abandoned. Just as in residential cases, any money received from selling those belongings must be applied to rent owed, and any additional profit must be refunded to defendants. Commercial landlords may wish to notify UCC lien-holders prior to any sale.

The new rules still need to be approved by the Mayor before they go into effect, but once they become effective landlords will need to create compliant notices and adopt policies to demonstrate compliance. Please contact our office with any questions.

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June 29

Eviction Reform Act of 2018

For the first time in a long time Washington, DC will soon have new eviction procedures. The Eviction Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2018 passed DC Council on June 26, 2018 and will become effective after it is signed by the mayor. The text of the current version of the law can be read here: Eviction Reform Emergency Amendment Act of 2018. For better or for worse, all Washington, DC landlords will need to become familiar with this new law to ensure compliance. This version of the law is not final and the final version may be different. However, it seems likely some version of this will soon become law. We wanted you to be aware of these changes as soon as possible.

This new legislation coincides with the US Marshals changing their policies on evictions. Pursuant to their new policy, landlords and tenants will receive a specific eviction date at the time of filing their Writ of Restitution, or soon thereafter, as opposed to the current policy of being notified of the eviction date on the day prior. When the Marshals arrive at the property, the landlord will change the locks and the eviction will be over. Legal possession will be returned to the landlord right there and then. The tenant’s right of redemption will be terminated. No eviction crew will be needed. However, the obvious elephant in the room is: what happens to the tenant’s stuff? As explained below, if the tenant elects, in writing, the landlord will have the obligation and cost to pack, move, and store all items for one month. Left unresolved by the current draft is the huge question: what are the landlord’s obligations if the tenant does not so elect? Perhaps the final version will say that the items may be deemed abandoned in that instance, but only time will tell.

The goal of the new policy and this new law is to have more tenants voluntarily vacating and fewer actual evictions with belongings placed on the street.

The current time-frame seems to be that the US Marshals are aiming to change their policies on July 9, 2018. The new law will seemingly be finalized, signed, and effective by that time, too. One major short-term question is whether these new laws and policies will apply to Writs that have already been filed. That has yet to be determined.

The biggest changes to the DC L&T eviction process stemming from the current version of the Emergency Legislation are as follows:

Landlords have a new burden to provide electronic and mailed notice to the tenant of the pending eviction, not less than 14 days prior to the date of eviction.
In the Landlord’s notice to tenant, the tenant must be notified of three important new legal rights and the tenant must be given the opportunity to respond in writing to “opt-in” and receive such rights. Currently left unanswered by the legislation is the tenant’s deadline for opting in.
The tenant’s new rights, which they must affirmatively elect to receive are:
1. On the day of the eviction, the Landlord must photograph all of the tenant’s belongings.
2. Within 1 week of the eviction, the Landlord must pack all breakable items in sealed boxes and all non-breakable items in sealed bags or boxes, deliver the items to a storage licensed facility within 10 miles of the rental unit, and notify the tenant of the location of the facility.
3. The Landlord must pay for 30-days of storage.

Obviously, this proposed law raises tons of new issues. Landlords will need to create a new form letter to comply with the notice requirements. Landlords will need to create policies to ensure they are able to prove valid service of the notice. Perhaps landlords should start taking pictures of the notices posted to the door, even though service is only required electronically and by mail. Certainly, landlords will want to become more vigilant about collecting and maintaining email addresses for all tenants. Landlords may want to try to negotiate a bulk rate with storage facilities, and find one with a keyless entry system for ease of providing the tenant with access. Landlords will also need to decide whether they should have their own staff do the packing and moving or whether it is better to hire licensed and bonded movers in order to limit liability. Regarding the photography of the tenant’s items, it is up to the landlord as to how much inventorying it decides is beneficial.

It should be noted that these new rules do not apply to commercial evictions, which may become easier and faster than they are now. No eviction crew will be needed and any items that remain in the property at the time of the eviction are all deemed abandoned. Seemingly a survey won’t be needed. The landlord may want to notify any UCC lien-holders of possession of those items at that time.

Along with the new policy and new law, DC Superior Court will also have new Writ form. Landlords will also have to provide two contact phone numbers.

Again, the current version is not yet final law. The final law may differ from this. However, the sooner landlords consider these issues and plan for the inevitable change the better. We urge you to read the text of the current version, and the final version, to ensure compliance with all terms. This is merely a summary of the law. Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss in further detail.

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