Happy family

Find a legal form in minutes

Browse US Legal Forms’ largest database of 85k state and industry-specific legal forms.

District of Columbia Termination of Lease Law

Landlord Tenant – Lease Termination – District of Columbia

§ 45-1402. Same – Month to month or quarter to quarter tenancy; expiration of notice.

A tenancy from month to month, or from quarter to quarter, may be terminated by a 30 days notice in writing from the landlord to the tenant to quit, or by such a notice from the tenant to the landlord of his intention to quit, said notice to expire, in either case, on the day of the month from which such tenancy commenced to run.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1219; 1973 Ed., § 45-902.)

§ 45-1403. Notice of termination – Tenancies at will.

A tenancy at will may be terminated by 30 days notice in writing by either landlord or tenant.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1220; 1973 Ed., § 45-903.)

§ 45-1404. Same – Tenancies by sufferance; apportionment of rent.

A tenancy by sufferance may be terminated at any time by a notice in writing from the landlord to the tenant to quit the premises leased, or by such notice from the tenant to the landlord of his intention to quit on the 30th day after the day of the service of the notice. If such notice expires before any periodic instalment of rent falls due, according to the terms of the tenancy, the landlord shall be entitled to a proportionate part of such instalment to the date fixed for quitting the premises.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1221; 1973 Ed., § 45-904.)

§ 45-1405. Notice not to be recalled without consent; effect of expiration of notice.

Neither landlord nor tenant, after giving notice as aforesaid, shall be entitled to recall the notice so given without the consent of the other party, but after the expiration of the notice given by the tenant as aforesaid the landlord shall be entitled to the possession as if he had given the proper notice to quit; and after the expiration of the notice given by the landlord as aforesaid the tenant shall be entitled to quit as if he had given the proper notice of his intention to quit.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1222; June 30, 1902, 32 Stat. 542, ch. 1329; 1973 Ed., § 45-905.)

§ 45-1406. Service of notice to quit.

Every notice to the tenant to quit shall be served in English and Spanish upon him personally, if he can be found, and if he can not be found it shall be sufficient service of said notice to deliver the same to some person of proper age upon the premises, and in the absence of such tenant or person to post the same in some conspicuous place upon the leased premises.  If the notice is posted on the premises, a copy of the notice shall be mailed first class U.S. mail, postage prepaid, to the premises sought to be recovered, in the name of the person known to be in possession of the premises, or if unknown, in the name of the person occupying the premises, within 3 calendar days of the date of posting.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1223; 1973 Ed., § 45-906; June 29, 1984, D.C. Law 5-90, § 3, 31 DCR 2537.)

§ 45-1407. Refusal to surrender possession; double rent.

If the tenant, after having given notice of his intention to quit as aforesaid, shall refuse, without reasonable excuse, to surrender possession according to such notice, he shall be liable to the landlord for rent at double the rate of rent payable according to the terms of tenancy for all the time that the tenant shall so wrongfully hold over, to be recovered in the same way as the rent accruing before the termination of the tenancy.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1382, ch. 854, § 1224; 1973 Ed., § 45-907.)

§ 45-1408. Parties may agree to alternate notice provisions; waiver.

Nothing herein contained shall be construed as preventing the parties to a lease, by agreement in writing, from substituting a longer or shorter notice to quit than is above provided or to waive all such notice.
(Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1384, ch. 854, § 1236; 1973 Ed., § 45-908.)


Inside District of Columbia Termination of Lease Law