The Housing Conditions Calendar (or Court) – within D.C. Superior Court’s Civil Division – allows tenants to sue their landlords to obtain needed repairs and ensure that their landlords comply with the D.C. Housing Code.

The calendar is intended to be a “problem-solving court” – it is limited by design and only available to tenants living in rental units who are seeking to enforce compliance with the housing code. Tenants seeking monetary or other relief from their landlord must file a separate claim in the Small Claims or Civil Actions Branch. The Housing Conditions Court can and does impose sanctions, such as rent abatement, if necessary to achieve compliance with D.C.’s housing code regulations.

Prior to the creation of the Housing Conditions Calendar in 2010, D.C. tenants who needed their landlords to make repairs or remedy conditions (e.g., insect or mice infestation) had to (a) withhold rent (or pay for the repairs themselves and withhold rent) and wait for their landlord to sue them for eviction due to nonpayment of rent in the Superior Court’s Landlord and Tenant Branch, or (b) sue their landlord in the Civil Actions Branch for injunctive relief. Neither of these options is ideal for tenants, because of the risk, time, and/or expense involved.

A housing inspector from the D.C. Department of Buildings is assigned to the Housing Conditions Court. Generally, a housing inspection will be scheduled at the initial hearing. The inspector attends all regularly scheduled hearings in the case and reports on their findings.

There are no trials, or except in rare circumstances, evidentiary hearings in the Housing Conditions Court. Motions practice is limited. However, a tenant may file a motion for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction along with their complaint if the conditions in the rental unit allegedly constitute an emergency and pose an immediate threat to the health and safety of the occupants of the unit.

The Housing Conditions Court sits every Tuesday. The calendar is presided over by a magistrate judge. Most hearings on the calendar currently are remote, with the parties appearing by video or telephone.