My landlord and I originally agreed verbally to a year-long lease, yet despite my repeated requests, he never gave me a written lease. My assumption was then that I was an at will tenant. Due to his blatant disregard for my privacy concerns (he repeatedly entered my apartment both alone and with repairmen for non-emergencies with ZERO notice) I decided to end my tenancy. I gave 30-days notice and left the place spotless. Now he's claiming that the original oral agreement is enforceable and so at the very last moment, he's decided to keep my security deposit. (I also have an email from him saying that he will give it back to me.) Is the oral lease enforceable? (Specifically, for DC.)

Yes, oral contracts (which is what a lease is) are admissible in Court and enforceable. I see no grounds to keep your security deposit. If he sues you for the rent you would raise the oral lease question and repeated entry to your apartment as defenses.

(You admit to a year long oral lease. There does not appear to have been an agreement between you that in the absence of reducing that lease to writing you would become a tenant at will.)

Ok, so you're saying that the oral contract is enforceable but there are no grounds to keep my security deposit, right? His claim is that the sec deposit is forfeited precisely because I am breaking the enforceable oral contract. Can you please clarify?

Also, doesn't the statue of fraud apply here in that since the contract can't be satisfied within one year, it has to be in writing to be enforceable?

Thanks so much for your advice here.



Yes, oral contracts (which is what a lease is) are admissable in Court and enforceable. I see no grounds to keep your security deposit.



If he sues you for the rent you would raise the oral lease question and repeated entry to your apartment as defenses.

(You admit to a year long oral lease. There does not appear to have been an agreement between you that in the absence of reducing that lease to writing you would become a tenant at will.)

Ok, so you're saying that the oral contract is enforceable but there are no grounds to keep my security deposit, right? His claim is that the sec deposit is forfeited precisely because I am breaking the enforceable oral contract. Can you please clarify?

Also, doesn't the statue of fraud apply here in that since the contract can't be satisfied within one year, it has to be in writing to be enforceable?

Thanks so much for your advice here.


Now I'm somewhat confused (which is nothing new).

Yes, I'm saying that the oral contract is enforceable as long as you both had the same mind set, both agreed. For example, if you thought the rent was $1,000 and he thought it was $2,000 you would not have a contract. That doesn't appear to be the case.

Security deposits are for monies lost to the landlord due to tenant fault - and that can include damages, advertising for a new tenant, things along that line. What was your agreement on the security deposit? Damages only?

Here is the confusing part - it was a one year lease. Why wasn't it able to be completed/satifisfied within that one year time frame?

First you didn't make dlear how long you lived there. There are other factors to consider as well.

Was part of the oral agreement that he would provide a written lease at some point?

Also, the fact that he has repeatedly violated reasonable entry could also void your agreement.

From what I've seen, DC does NOT have a statute that addresses any sort of notice time a landlord must give a tenant in order to enter the property... unless such a notice is agreed upon prior to renting.

Washingtonpost.com: Tips on Renting in the District of Columbia (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-adv/classifieds/rentals/dcfaq.htm)

Yes, the law does not address - is silent - on the issue of landlords entering apartments in the absence of the tenant. Therefore, I still think - because there is no law in either direction - that the tenant can make an argument that entering on a frequent basis is grounds to break the lease for reasons of privacy/security. The landlord still must act within reason - and whether the landlord was reasonable is something the tenant would have to prove.

Washington DC Landlord Tenant Law (http://www.thelpa.com/lpa/landlord-tenant-law/washington-dc-landlord-tenant-law.html)

Ok, so that may or may not be grounds for breaking the lease.

Hi and thanks all for your responses, esp Judy and Scott. It's all very helpful. Just to clarify the issues here...

First of all, I lived in the apt for a little over 6 months and it was absolutely our oral agreement that we would have a written lease. I repeatedly asked for one and he simply failed to deliver it. In general, he's the kind of landlord who thinks that he's entitled to adhere only to his own rules. Hence, his repeated unreasonable entry.

Re: unreasonable entry, this was not atypical. Case in point, one Sunday at 9 am I woke up half naked with two men's voices outside my bedroom door. When I called out, he said he thought I was usually out by this time (I'm a late sleeper). I then yelled out that I was sleeping. To which he responded, not to worry, he was just going to show Luis something in the bathroom. When I complained he threatened to evict me. And this went on for the rest of my tenancy.

Although he and I never discussed exactly what the security deposit was intended for prior to my move-in, I have a recent email exchange with him where I requested the use of the sec deposit for last month's rent. (I gave him 30 days notice.) His response was that this money could only be used for "damages and unpaid bills." This seems to rule out using the money as a penalty for breaking an oral agreement.

I also found out yesterday that he'd been charging me an amount of rent about $200 above the legal amount, per the Housing Regulation. So, now I'm going to ask for that too. Question: Can I ask for reimbursement for time off, travel and accommodation for going to small claims court. (I no longer live in DC and will have to take a train, get a hotel, etc.)

Many thanks for your sage advice here!

You can ask the judge to award you reasonable costs. Don't know whether that will fly though.