Breaking a lease in District of Columbia

If you are the tenant

• A tenant may end a month-to-month tenancy by 30-day written notice; the notice expires on the first day of the first calendar month that is at least 30 days after the notice date, whatever day rent is due (D.C. Code §§ 42-3202(b), 42-3505.54(a)).

If the landlord ends it

• A housing provider cannot end a residential tenancy with a no-cause notice; only a tenant may use the 30-day notice to quit (D.C. Code § 42-3202(b)). A tenant who pays rent may be evicted only for a reason listed in § 42-3505.01, with that section's notice, even after the lease expires.

Written notice required: Yes. The tenant's notice of intent to quit must be in writing (D.C. Code § 42-3202(b)).

If a tenant moves out before the lease term ends, any actual damages the housing provider can recover are subject to its duty to mitigate (D.C. Code § 42-3505.52).

Landlord's duty to re-rent: Yes. By statute, a housing provider's actual damages when a tenant vacates before the end of the lease are subject to the provider's duty to mitigate (D.C. Code § 42-3505.52).

Lease-break fees: When a housing provider lets an outgoing tenant find a replacement, assign or sublet, any replacement fee may not exceed the application-fee cap ($50, adjustable for CPI since 2024) (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(4)). No other statutory cap on lease-break charges.

• Domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking (D.C. Code § 42-3505.07)

  A tenant who is (or whose minor child is) a victim of an intrafamily offense is released from the lease 14 days after the landlord receives written notice and documentation.

  Notice:

  14 days, in writing

  Proof:

  A civil protection order issued on the tenant's petition, or documentation signed by a qualified third party (police officer, DCHA officer, health professional, or domestic violence counselor). Request must be within 90 days of the reported act.

  What you still owe:

  Rent prorated only to the earlier of 14 days after the request or the start of a new tenancy, notwithstanding any lease penalty.

Military orders, every state: the federal SCRA lets servicemembers with orders (permanent change of station or deployment of 90+ days) end a lease with written notice and a copy of the orders. How the SCRA date is counted.

• A lease may not require more than 30 days' notice to vacate at the end of the initial term unless it says that requirement expires with that term (D.C. Code § 42-3505.53), and may not require more than 30 days' notice of intent to vacate unless the landlord's rent-increase notice is at least 30 days longer (§ 42-3505.54(b)).
• A housing provider may ban subletting or assignment only if the lease says so; otherwise it may condition consent on reasonable rental qualifications (D.C. Code § 42-3505.55).
• No D.C. statute gives military members a lease-termination right beyond federal SCRA.

• Write a District of Columbia notice to vacate
• District of Columbia security deposit law: getting your deposit back after you move

• D.C. Code § 42-3202 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.54 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.53 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.52 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.07 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.01 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.10 Retrieved October 13, 2026.
• D.C. Code § 42-3505.55 Retrieved October 13, 2026.

Laws change. This page was checked against the sources above on October 13, 2026. It is legal information, not legal advice; see our methodology.