District of Columbia Notice to Vacate

District of Columbia notice periods

Each period is the one LeaseCraft's record of the statute holds. Read it with the conditions under it: some periods are minimums and some apply unless the lease sets another. "Lease controls" means the record holds no statutory period for that situation, and "No pre-suit notice" means it holds no notice before filing. The source column shows the law and the date LeaseCraft read it on the official site (most recently 2026-09-27).

What the District of Columbia statute says

Ending a month-to-month tenancy: 90 days

• No no-cause termination exists: no tenant may be evicted notwithstanding expiration of the lease so long as the tenant continues to pay rent (§ 42-3505.01(a)(1)).
• Shortest no-fault notice is 90 days — owner's personal use and occupancy (d) or sale to a purchaser for personal use (e); alterations/renovation (f) and substantial rehabilitation (h) require 120 days; demolition (g) and discontinuance of housing use (i) require 180 days.
• Non-nonpayment notices are served on the tenant and the Rent Administrator (§ 42-3505.01(a)(1)).

Tenant staying after the lease ends: Lease controls

• Lease expiration is not a ground: a tenant who keeps paying rent may not be evicted notwithstanding expiration of the lease (§ 42-3505.01(a)(1)); the tenancy continues on the same terms.

Delivery, form and other District of Columbia rules

Statewide just-cause rule

Yes: a statewide law requires a stated legal reason to end some tenancies

• Covered housing: rental units under the Rental Housing Act; eviction only for the grounds in § 42-3505.01 (nonpayment (a-1), uncorrected violation of tenancy obligation (b), court-determined illegal act (c), owner personal use (d), sale for personal use (e), alterations (f), demolition (g), substantial rehabilitation (h), discontinuance of housing use (i)).
• Every eviction requires a written notice meeting the section's requirements ('No tenant shall be evicted from a rental unit for any reason unless the tenant has been served with a written notice which meets the requirements of this section' — § 42-3505.01(a)(1)).

D.C. Code § 42-3505.01 · read 2026-09-27

How the notice may be delivered

Nonpayment notice: BOTH (A) certified mail or a delivery service with tracking, return receipt requested, AND (B) hand delivery to the rental unit or posting on its front door (§ 42-3505.01(a-1)(3)). Notices for all other grounds must be served on the tenant and on the Rent Administrator (§ 42-3505.01(a)(1)); the method for those (D.C. Code § 42-3206) was not read.

D.C. Code § 42-3505.01(a)(1), (a-1)(3) · read 2026-09-27

Preparing the notice

The form asks for the tenancy, the date the tenant must leave and how the notice is delivered, and states the notice period plainly. You enter the period; where LeaseCraft has verified the District of Columbia period for ending a month-to-month tenancy, it refuses a shorter one.

Create a District of Columbia notice to vacate

A notice is not a court order and does not by itself remove a tenant. Cities and counties can add rules. LeaseCraft is not a law firm and this is not legal advice.