District of Columbia Landlord Compliance Kit: Deposit, Notice and Eviction Checklists with an Excel Tracker

Who it is for

Landlords and property managers with rentals in District of Columbia, and tenants who want the same record, from move-in through move-out or a court case.

Not the right fit if

Your rental is outside District of Columbia: get that state's kit. Not legal advice, not a lawyer's review of a lease, notice or court case, and not a set of legal notice forms; city and county rules aren't covered.

Why it is different

• Built only from our District of Columbia data files, checked November 2026 against 8 official pages, among them Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code 42-3502.17; D.C. Office of the Tenant Advocate: Tenant Bill of Rights (form OTA 2026.09.25); Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code 42-3505.01 (Evictions); Council of the District of Columbia: D.C. Code 42-3505.31 (Late fees); D.C. Courts: I have a judgment or a default against my tenant. How do I evict the tenant?; D.C. Superior Court: Case Management Plan, Landlord and Tenant Branch (rev. Feb. 2021).
• 6 items the official pages didn't state are marked "not confirmed" with the page to check, never guessed.
• The workbook recalculates with zero formula errors and works out DC notice and deposit dates for you.

What is inside

• Start here. How to use the kit, the 17 confirmed District of Columbia rules at a glance and the 6 items to confirm: penalty the law states, ending month-to-month (tenant), filing fee, writ to lockout, right to counsel (statewide), diversion or mediation (statewide), each with the official page to check.
• District of Columbia landlord rules checklist. Deposits, notice periods, the eviction case and the small claims limit, each confirmed rule with its source link and check date. What it confirms: deposit limit: No more than the initial monthly rent (Tenant Bill of Rights, citing 14 DCMR 308-311); return deadline: Within 45 days after the tenancy ends: the deposit with interest, or a written notice of unpaid amounts, delivered personally, by email or by certified mail, with supporting photos or other documentation and a statement of the tenant's right to dispute (42-3502.17(e)(2)); itemized list of deductions: A written notice of the unpaid amounts claimed, with photos or other documentation and the tenant's right to dispute within 30 calendar days; the landlord answers a dispute in writing within 10 days (42-3502.17(e)); interest on the deposit: Returned with interest for tenancies of 12 months or more (Tenant Bill of Rights); where the deposit is held: In an interest-bearing account (Tenant Bill of Rights); ending month-to-month (landlord): A tenant can't be evicted because a lease expired; only for a reason listed in the law, after a written notice to vacate; rent increase notice: At least 60 days' written notice of any rent increase; unpaid rent notice: Notice of intent to file at least 10 days before filing, with a ledger; no filing for less than $600.
• Move-in and move-out deposit checklist. A room-by-room condition checklist for both visits and the steps after move-out, with DC's return deadline (within 45 days).
• Notice calendar. When each notice must go out: the lead time for every notice the state's text confirms, with a 2027 month-by-month serve-by table worked out with our notice date calculator's rules.
• Eviction timeline sheet. The DC case in order from notice to lockout, with each confirmed stage, an example dated from a sample filing day where the rules give periods, and blanks for your own case dates.
• DC landlord workbook (Excel). A tenant notice log that dates each notice from the DC rules, a deposit tracker that works out the return date for each move-out, and a rent ledger with a running balance.