Evicting a Roommate in Washington, D.C.

Uh-oh, your roommate in your sweet D.C. apartment is not paying rent, living like a pig, or otherwise making your life miserable. What can you do about it? Can you have her evicted? Here's what you need to know about evicting a roommate.

Welcome to our guide on getting rid of a bad roommate in D.C. Here's what we'll cover:

• Figure out if it's possible
• Give them notice
• Go to court

Do I have the legal power to evict my roommate?

The laws applicable to landlord-tenant issues in D.C. can be found in Title 42, Chapter 32 and Title 42, Chapter 35 of the Code of the District of Columbia. D.C. is notoriously one of the most tenant-friendly jurisdictions in America. Unfortunately for you, these tenant protections probably extend to your unwanted roommate. In other words, it is going to be difficult to kick her out.

Washington D.C. does not allow tenants to evict co-tenants. However, if your roommate qualifies as a "guest," you can pursue an eviction against that guest.

Here are some specific scenarios that might be confusing you:

• What if you're both on the lease? You can’t start a case for eviction in housing court. Under D.C. law, only a “housing provider” can bring an eviction proceeding. Instead, you'll need to put it in your landlord's hands.
• What if there's no lease? If there is no lease or sublease in place, you will need to determine if your roommate is a tenant or a guest. If he is a guest, he can be evicted.
• What if I'm on the lease but my roommate is not? You will need to determine if your roommate is a tenant or a guest. If he is a guest, he can be evicted.

D.C. law is fairly broad when it comes to identifying who’s a tenant – any “person entitled to the possession, occupancy, or the benefits of any rental unit owned by another person” counts, as do subtenants. When there is a dispute as to whether someone is a guest or a tenant, D.C. courts will apply an “entirety of the circumstances” analysis. There are going to be three major aspects of this analysis: was there an agreement that the guest can stay in the apartment indefinitely, was the guest free to utilize the entire apartment and not just a bedroom, and did the guest pay rent? If any of those questions are answered affirmatively, you probably have a co-tenant, not a guest. Hence the court in Young v. District of Columbia found that an alleged guest’s claim that he paid half the rent, and was free to use the apartment as much as he wanted, were sufficient to, if true, show that the guest was a tenant.

Okay, so you think you have a guest, not a tenant. What now? Technically and legally speaking, you can kick a guest out without any court process at all. Just change the locks. Practically speaking, however, that might not be the wisest way to go. For one, your guest might call the police and claim to be a tenant, and the police might tell you to let them back into the apartment and deal with the issue in court. For another, if you eventually do go to court, and your guest is able to convince the court that she is a tenant, you’ve now committed a wrongful eviction.

Generally, if a guest really won’t leave, speak to a landlord-tenant lawyer. Even if you feel it is abundantly clear that the guest is just that, a guest, and has no tenant protections, it is worth the cost of an hourly consultation just to make sure you are abiding by the proper law. Plus, if it helps you avoid evicting your guest, that’s a huge benefit, as we’ll see below.

How do I know if I have a good reason to evict?

If your roommate is a guest, you do not need a reason to evict him - all you need to do is show that he has no right to live in the apartment and thus he is only a guest.

Note that if your roommate/guest makes less than $24,000, she is entitled to a free attorney to help her fight the eviction.

How much notice do I have to give?

Remember those very tenant-friendly laws we noted? Well, now is your chance to experience them up close. Even though we’ve already determined that your tenant is a “guest,” you’ll still need to contend with the complex legal process in D.C. of kicking someone out of a residence.

Eviction of a guest is largely the same as the eviction of a tenant, with one important difference: you do not need to give your guest a 30-day Notice to Quit before filing an action in court. Thus, the day you decide your guest needs to go and she is refusing, you can go to court without taking any prior steps.

Going to court

How do I file eviction papers?

So, without having to worry about a Notice to Quit, you will be filing your action in the Landlord and Tenant Branch of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Your first step will be filling out and filing with the court two documents: a Verified Complaint for Possession of Real Property, and a Summons to Appear in Court and Notice of Hearing.pdf). There is a box on the Complaint form to check indicating that you do not own the property in question, but are nonetheless seeking possession of it – check this box.

After you pay a $15 fee and have your papers stamped, you’ll need to have your guest served – note that you cannot perform the service yourself. You can find a guide to the service process here. The easiest way to go may be to simply hire a local process server.

What happens in court?

You and your guest will appear in court usually around three weeks after you file your complaint and summons – you’ll receive the exact date upon filing. You may want to obtain a lawyer for this next part, particularly if your guest has one. The key here is to be prepared! Your guest’s only real defense is that she is a tenant, and thus can only be removed by a landlord. So understand that you will need to refute this, by showing that there was no agreement for her to remain in the apartment, and that she never paid any rent. You will also have the option of working with a court mediator to try and come to a mutually agreeable solution. If you decide to forego mediation, or try it and it fails, and subsequently win your case, your guest will be ordered to vacate the premises.

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