Montgomery County Passes Bill Allowing Tenants to Break Lease for Code Violations
✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.
Montgomery County is giving renters in substandard conditions some leverage.
Yesterday, the Montgomery County Council unanimously passed a bill empowering tenants to break their lease if certain code violations in their apartment or in the common areas are not remedied within 30 days of a Department of Housing and Community Affairs (DHCA) order. The Landlord-Tenant Relations – Termination of Lease – Tenant Health and Safety bill would mandate that all new leases include a provision acknowledging this right.
story continues below
loading...story continues above
“This bill extends needed protections to renters who, through no fault of their own, face unsafe conditions that have been ignored by their landlords,” Councilmember Tom Hucker, who introduced the bill, said in a statement.
Under the bill, landlords would have 30 days to correct violations including visible interior mold growth, an infestation of rodents or insects affecting at least 20 percent of the building units, recurring water leaks, personal property damage in multiple units, or lack of utilities if tenant is not responsible. If not remedied in thirty days, a tenant could terminate their lease.
The bill was inspired by a White Oak apartment building that amassed over 2,600 housing code violations last winter and whose tenants sued the building owners.
See other articles related to: code violations, montgomery county, slumlords, tenant rights
This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/montgomery-county-passes-bill-allowing-tenants-to-break-lease-for-code-viol/15587.
Most Popular... This Week • Last 30 Days • Ever
A plan to add another new residential building to the Friendship Heights pipeline is ... read »
Forest Hills Connection is reporting that the owner of the Days Inn along Connecticut... read »
This week’s Best New Listings includes a bi-level condo north of Adams Morgan's mai... read »
On Monday, the listing price for the 30,000 square foot home that was originally buil... read »
DC's Historic Preservation Review Board looks poised to approve changes for one of th... read »
- Donohoe Files PUD For 127-Unit Development in Friendship Heights
- A Plan For More Development In Van Ness?
- Best New Listings: Windows Galore on Biltmore; One Up, One Down on Swann
- The Price For Dan Snyder's Former Potomac Home Drops By $5 Million
- HPO Recommends Approval For Changes To 280-Unit Building At DC's Reservoir District
DC Real Estate Guides
Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market
We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!
First-Timer Primers
Intro guides for first-time home buyers
Unique Spaces
Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro