United States · DC

Evicting a bad tenant in District of Columbia costs ~$14,715.

That's the typical combined hit from filing fees, 3 months of lost rent, property damage, legal costs, and turnover — per bad tenant. Here's the full breakdown and a calculator for your specific situation.
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Filing fee

$15

D.C. Superior Court (Landlord & Tenant Branch)

Avg timeline

90 days

~13 weeks

Lost rent

$7,200

3 months at $2,400/mo

Property damage

$3,500

Beyond security deposit

Legal fees

$2,000

Attorney + court costs

Turnover

$2,000

Repairs, cleaning, re-listing

How District of Columbia handles evictions

Strong tenant protections; expect 3–6+ months for contested cases.

Calculate your risk
Adjust the inputs to model your specific situation in District of Columbia.

Default: regional median

Filing → unit re-rented

Beyond security deposit

Court filing fee

$15

Lost rent during process

3 months at $2,400/mo

$7,200

Property damage

$3,500

Legal fees

$2,000

Turnover & re-listing

$2,000

Estimated total loss

$14,715

That's what one bad tenant typically costs a District of Columbia landlord.

Most of that loss is preventable.

Bad tenants almost always leave a paper trail — the problem is that most landlords don't check carefully. Here's what a proper screening catches before you sign the lease.

Fake pay stubs & inflated income

AI analysis catches font mismatches, math errors, and metadata red flags in uploaded income documents.

Prior evictions they didn't mention

Eviction history searches surface past court records even when applicants claim a clean record.

Former landlord reference gaps

Automated verification reaches out directly — applicants can't forward requests to a friend pretending to be their landlord.

The fix

$99 of screening vs $14,715 in losses.

One verified red flag pays for years of TenantFort. Start with 5 free screenings — no card required.

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