Landlord and Tenant

Filing a Case  

To start an L & T case, you must file a Landlord and Tenant Complaint and a Summons with the court.

The filing fee is $15.

Parties to the Case  

• The person starting the case is called the Plaintiff.
• The person being sued is called the Defendant.  
• A case may have more than one plaintiff or defendant.  

Complaint Requirements  

A Landlord and Tenant Complaint is a document that names the parties and explains why you believe the tenant should be evicted.  

You must file a complaint using one of four different complaint forms. You must choose the correct form based on your type of case.

Summons Requirements

A summons is an official legal document notifying a person (defendant) a lawsuit has been filed against them, and they are required to appear in court.  

You must file a summons using the Summons to Appear in Court and Notice of Hearing Form (Form 1S).  

For each person listed in the Summons, include the first name, last name, address, telephone number and email address, if known at the time of filing. If any information is unknown, write “UNKNOWN.”  

The Summons must be signed by the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney.  

• If you do not have a lawyer, you must:  
  • Sign the Summons yourself  
  • Use a handwritten signature (stamps are not allowed)  
• The signature must include:  
  • First and last name  
  • Bar number (if filed by an attorney)  
  • Address  
  • Telephone number  
  • Email address (if available)  

Service Requirements

After filing your case, you will receive an Initial Hearing Notice and Instructions with your court date, either in-person, by mail, or by email depending on how you filed your case. Your case cannot move forward unless you tell the tenant about it in the way the law requires. This is called “serving” the complaint.  

Serving the complaint means you arrange to give each defendant a copy of:

• The Complaint
• The Summons
• The Initial Hearing Notice and Instructions  

For more details, see the Instructions for Serving the Landlord and Tenant Summons under Landlord and Tenant Resources.

Proof of Service

You must provide proof that each defendant was served. The person who serves the papers must file proof of service with the Clerk’s Office.

• Proof of service must be filed at least 14 days before the first hearing date.
• The form used is called Declaration of Service (L&T Form 3).
• The form must be signed and filed with the court.
• A separate form must be filed for each defendant.

If the summons is not served with the complaint, the court may dismiss the case. If proof of service is not filed at least 14 days before the hearing, and the plaintiff does not file a motion asking for more time, the court will dismiss the case and notify all parties.

You can get all L & T forms from the L & T Clerk’s Office or download them from the DC Courts website.  

Payment must be made at the time of filing.    

Important Information  

• All papers must be on white 8½ × 11 paper 
• Pages must be printed on one side only  
• “DC Superior Court” must appear at the top of the first page of every filing  
• Papers must be fastened at the top, unless filed electronically   

How Do I File Documents?    

You may file documents in any of the following ways:    

Option 1: Mail. You can mail them to the Landlord and Tenant (L&T) Branch Clerk’s Office 510 4th St. NW, Building B, Room 110 Washington, DC 20001.    

Option 2: In Person. You can file documents in Room 110, 510 4th St. NW, Building B, Washington, DC 20001.  Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Wednesday 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., and from 9:00 a.m. to noon on Saturday.    

Option 3: Drop Box. You can put the documents in the drop box in the lobby of the Moultrie Courthouse at 500 Indiana Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001.  Call the Clerk’s Office a few days later to check if your documents have arrived. You can call them on (202) 879-1133 or (202) 879-1134.    

Option 4: Electronically. You can file the documents electronically (efiling) on eFileDC http://efiledcsuperiorcourt.gov/. The court encourages people who represent themselves to efile if they can. For more information about efiling go to https://www.dccourts.gov/superior-court/e-filing, or call Tyler Technologies at 1-800-297-5377. eFileDC offers a training video that explains its core features in addition to best practice tips.  Go to: https://efiledcsuperiorcourt.gov/training-resources-page/.  

Filing Fees and Payment  

Different types of civil cases have different filing fees. You must pay the filing fee at the time of filing.  

 The court accepts the following forms of payment:  

• Cash  
• Credit card  
• Debit card  
• E-check  
• Personal check (with a photo ID)  
• Money order  
• Cashier’s check  

Checks must be made payable to Clerk of the Court. A 4.5 percent service transaction fee is applied to all payments submitted by credit or debit card. If you cannot afford the filing fee, you may ask the court to waive the fee. To do this, you must file a Fee Waiver Application at the same time as your complaint and summons.  You can get this form from the Landlord and Tenant Clerk’s Office or download it from the DC Courts website. 

Do I Need to File an Answer?

An answer is a document where a tenant explains in writing the reasons the landlord should not be allowed to evict the tenant, or why the tenant owes less money than the landlord says is owed.

In most Landlord and Tenant (L&T) cases, defendants are not required to file an Answer.  

You must file an answer if you:

• Are asking for a jury trial, or
• Are filing a counterclaim, or
• Are claiming ownership of the property (a plea of title)

An answer may be filed in the L & T Clerk’s Office before the initial hearing, in open court on the date of the initial hearing, or in the L & T Clerk’s office after the initial hearing.  

If you do not file an answer and if you disagree with the landlord’s claim, you must tell the judge your defenses at your court hearing. A defense is a reason why the landlord should not win the case. For example, the rent amount is wrong, the landlord did not give proper notice, or the lease was not broken. A defense is used to stop or reduce the landlord’s claim.

There is no fee to file an answer unless you are also filing a counterclaim ($10) or asking for a jury trial ($75).

Can I File a Claim if I am Being Sued?

If the landlord filed the case for non-payment of rent, you may file a claim for money. This claim may be called a:

• Counterclaim
• Recoupment
• Setoff

You can often raise these at court without filing a claim. However, a counterclaim, recoupment, or setoff must be filed in writing if it is based on rent payments or repair costs from a time period that is not listed in the landlord’s complaint.  

If the landlord is suing you for something other than unpaid rent, you usually cannot file a claim in Landlord and Tenant Court. These claims may be filed in other branches of the court.  

Counterclaim

In a counterclaim, the tenant asks for money back that was paid to the landlord during the past three years because of bad housing conditions.

The tenant may also ask the judge to:

• Order the landlord to make repairs
• Refund illegally high rent (in excess of rent control or rent caps)

There is a $10 filing fee.

Recoupment

In a recoupment, the tenant asks the judge to reduce or cancel the rent the landlord is asking for because of bad housing conditions that existed while the tenant lived in the property.

There is no fee to file a recoupment.

Setoff

In a setoff, the tenant asks the landlord to pay back money the tenant spent on:

• Repairs
• Supplies
• Hotel costs (if the unit was not safe to live in)
• Utilities the landlord should have paid

These claims usually cover the past three years. There is no fee to file a setoff.

What Must the Tenant Prove?

To win a claim based on bad housing conditions, the tenant must show:

• There were serious problems that broke the Housing Code
• The tenant did not cause the problem
• The landlord knew or should have known about the problem
• The landlord did not fix the problem within a reasonable time

Not Sure What to Do?

Court staff can explain court steps but cannot give legal advice. You may want to speak to a lawyer about your case. 

A protective order is a court order that requires a defendant (usually the tenant) to make payments into the court registry while the case is still pending.

Protective orders:

• Apply only while the case is open
• Require payments going forward
• Do not require payment of back rent into the court registry

How the Court Decides the Payment Amount

If both parties do not agree on the amount:

• The court will decide how much must be paid each month.
• The amount is usually the monthly rent.

A defendant may ask the court to reduce the payment amount because of housing code violations.

If this request is made, the court may schedule a hearing called a Bell Hearing. At this hearing, both sides may present evidence about the housing conditions.

Making Protective Order Payments

Protective order payments can usually be made only in open cases.

You can pay money into the court registry in three ways:

1. In person at the Landlord and Tenant Clerk’s Office
2. Using the court Drop-box
3. Through the court’s online payment portal

To make an online payment, you must first email: 
landlordandtenantdocket [at] dcsc.gov.

The court will send you an invoice with a link to pay online. You may pay up to $1,000 every 30 days through the online system.

Payment Methods

Deposits to the court registry may be made by:

• Cash
• Check
• Credit card
• Debit card

Checks must be made payable to Clerk of the Court.

A 2.39% service fee is added to all payments made by credit or debit card. 

https://gwul.org/dccourtsdiversion/