District of Columbia: Tenant Abandoned Property Notice, Storage, and Disposal Requirements
The short answer
In the District of Columbia, a landlord may not clear an evicted tenant's belongings to the curb. Personal property present when the U.S. Marshals execute the writ of restitution must stay in the rental unit for 7 days after eviction (excluding Sundays and federal holidays), and the landlord must store it with reasonable care and give the tenant free access — at least 16 hours over two days — to retrieve it (D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a). After the 7 days, remaining property is deemed abandoned and the landlord must remove or dispose of it without further notice, but may not dump it outdoors except at a licensed facility; a landlord that follows the process is immune from liability for the disposed property.
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This is the general rule in District of Columbia. Ezel applies current District of Columbia law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law, trigger, and routes | D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a (Rental Housing Act; Eviction with Dignity Amendment Act of 2018). Trigger: an eviction — the 'time of eviction' is when the U.S. Marshals execute a writ of restitution (§ 42-3505.01a(h)). A housing provider 'shall not remove an evicted tenant's personal property from a rental unit except as provided' — no curbside eviction (subsec. (a)). The scheme is eviction-specific; it sets no voluntary-abandonment procedure and does not apply to District of Columbia Housing Authority evictions (subsec. (f)). |
|---|---|
| Initial handling, inventory, and storage | The property stays in place: personal property present at the time of eviction 'shall remain in the rental unit for 7 days after the time of eviction, excluding Sundays and federal holidays' (§ 42-3505.01a(d)(2)). At eviction the provider changes the locks in the Marshals' presence at its own expense and takes legal possession by a Marshals' document (subsec. (c)(1)), and 'shall maintain and exercise reasonable care in the storage' during the 7 days (subsec. (d)(3)). No inventory, photograph, or off-site-warehouse step is required or authorized. |
| Notice recipients, method, and contents | Two notices. At least 21 days before eviction, the provider delivers notice by phone or electronic message, first-class mail to the unit, AND conspicuous posting (subsec. (b)(1)); it must give the tenant's name and address and the eviction date, warn that property left will be 'deemed abandoned 7 days after the time of eviction, excluding Sundays and federal holidays,' list the phone numbers of the Marshals, Office of the Tenant Advocate, and Landlord and Tenant Branch, state it is the final notice, and describe the 7-day access rights (subsec. (b)(2)). On eviction day, a second notice goes by first-class mail to any emergency contact and is conspicuously posted, naming an agent who can grant access plus the same phone numbers (subsec. (d)(1)). |
| Claim and retrieval deadlines | The tenant has 7 days after the time of eviction — excluding Sundays and federal holidays — to retrieve the property before it is deemed abandoned (§ 42-3505.01a(d)(2), (d)(5)(A)). Within that window the provider must grant access for no fewer than 16 total hours between 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. over not more than 2 days, and must allow a Saturday visit on request (subsec. (b)(2)(G), (d)(4)(A)). The provider may extend the access period at its sole discretion (subsec. (d)(4)(B)). |
| Retrieval conditions and storage charges | Retrieval is free: the provider may impose 'no requirement that the tenant pay rent or service fees for the 7-day storage period' (§ 42-3505.01a(b)(2)(G)(iii), (d)(4)(A)(iii)). No proof-of-ownership, written-claim, or partial-pickup condition is stated. If the provider fails to grant the required access, the tenant may obtain injunctive relief, including set access times and an extension of the storage period (subsec. (d)(4)(C)). |
| Low-value, perishable, and protected property | The statute draws no distinctions by property type or value — no dollar threshold and no separate track for trash, perishables, hazardous items, documents, medicine, or keepsakes. All personal property present at eviction is treated the same: stored in the unit for 7 days, then deemed abandoned (§ 42-3505.01a(d)(2), (d)(5)(A)). |
| Sale or disposal method | After the 7-day period, remaining property 'shall be deemed abandoned' and the provider 'shall remove, or dispose of' it 'without any further notice or any other obligation,' 'in any manner not prohibited' by the statute or law (§ 42-3505.01a(d)(5)(A)-(C)). No sale, auction, or proceeds process is required. The provider may not place abandoned property in an outdoor space other than a licensed disposal facility or lawful receptacle, except while transporting it for disposal (subsec. (d)(5)(D)) — the statutory bar on curbside dumping. |
| Proceeds, accounting, and unclaimed funds | There is no statutory sale, so no proceeds, accounting, surplus, or unclaimed-funds route; lawful disposal ends the provider's obligations (§ 42-3505.01a(d)(5)(B)). The tenant's remedy is the free 7-day in-unit retrieval window, not a claim on any sale proceeds. |
| Remedies, liability, and special limits | A provider and anyone acting on its behalf are 'immune from civil liability for loss or damage to any property deemed abandoned ... or claims related to its lawful disposal' (§ 42-3505.01a(e)) — but the immunity reaches only lawful disposal after the process is followed. Removing property before the 7 days, denying required access, or curbside dumping falls outside it: the tenant may seek injunctive relief to compel access or extend storage (subsec. (d)(4)(C)), and a failure of the 21-day or eviction-day notice supports injunctive relief including a stay of the eviction (subsec. (g)). The section does not cover District of Columbia Housing Authority evictions (subsec. (f)). |
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Requirements one by one
No curbside eviction: the property stays in the unit
The District's rule, enacted by the Eviction with Dignity Amendment Act of 2018,
starts from a flat prohibition: a housing provider "shall not remove an evicted
tenant's personal property from a rental unit except as provided in this section"
(D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(a)). Instead of putting belongings on the sidewalk, the
provider leaves them where they are. Any personal property present at the "time of
eviction" — defined as when the U.S. Marshals execute the writ of restitution
(subsec. (h)) — "shall remain in the rental unit for 7 days after the time of
eviction, excluding Sundays and federal holidays" (subsec. (d)(2)). During those
7 days the provider "shall maintain and exercise reasonable care in the storage"
of the property (subsec. (d)(3)).
Two notices, delivered three ways
The tenant must receive advance warning. At least 21 days before the eviction,
the provider delivers a notice by phone or electronic message, by first-class
mail to the unit, and by conspicuous posting (subsec. (b)(1)). That notice must
prominently warn that property left behind "will be deemed abandoned 7 days after
the time of eviction, excluding Sundays and federal holidays," give the phone
numbers of the Marshals, the Office of the Tenant Advocate, and the Landlord and
Tenant Branch, state that it is the final notice even if the date slips, and
describe the tenant's 7-day access rights (subsec. (b)(2)). On the day of
eviction, a second notice is mailed to any emergency contact and conspicuously
posted, naming an agent who can grant access (subsec. (d)(1)).
Free access for at least 16 hours over the 7 days
Within the 7-day window the provider must grant the tenant access to the unit to
remove belongings for "no fewer than 16 total hours between the hours of 8:00
a.m. and 6:00 p.m. over a period of not more than 2 days," must allow a Saturday
visit if the tenant asks, and may charge no rent or service fees for the storage
period (subsec. (b)(2)(G), (d)(4)(A)). The provider may extend the access period
at its own discretion (subsec. (d)(4)(B)). If the provider refuses required
access, the tenant can go to court for injunctive relief, including set access
times and a longer storage period (subsec. (d)(4)(C)).
After 7 days: deemed abandoned, then disposed of
Property still in the unit when the 7 days end "shall be deemed abandoned
property," and the provider "shall remove, or dispose of" it "without any further
notice or any other obligation to the evicted tenant" (subsec. (d)(5)(A)-(B)).
Disposal may be by any lawful means, with one express limit: the provider may not
place abandoned property in an outdoor space other than a licensed disposal
facility or lawful receptacle, except while transporting it away for disposal
(subsec. (d)(5)(D)). There is no sale requirement and no proceeds to account for.
What trips people up
The 7 days exclude Sundays and federal holidays. The storage and access
period is counted in the tenant's favor by skipping Sundays and federal holidays
(subsec. (d)(2)), so the calendar deadline is later than a plain "7 days" would
suggest.
Immunity protects only lawful disposal. The provider's civil-liability
immunity applies to property "deemed abandoned" and to "its lawful disposal"
(subsec. (e)). Removing property before the 7 days run, denying the required
access, or dumping belongings on the curb is outside the process, so it is
outside the immunity and can be enjoined (subsec. (d)(4)(C), (g)).
This is an eviction rule, not an abandonment-in-place rule. The clock starts
when the Marshals execute the writ of restitution (subsec. (h)). A tenant who
simply moves out and leaves property behind is not covered by this section's
timeline; the lease and general law govern that situation.
Public-housing evictions are carved out. Section 42-3505.01a "shall not apply
to evictions carried out by the District of Columbia Housing Authority" (subsec.
(f)), which follows its own procedures.
Common questions
Can the landlord throw the tenant's things on the sidewalk on eviction day?
No. Section 42-3505.01a(a) forbids removing the property from the unit except as
the statute allows, and belongings must stay in the unit for 7 days
(excluding Sundays and federal holidays) with the tenant given free access to
retrieve them. Curbside dumping is separately barred by subsection (d)(5)(D).
Does the tenant have to pay storage to get the belongings back?
No. The provider may impose no requirement that the tenant pay rent or service
fees for the 7-day storage period, and access must total at least 16 hours over
two days (subsec. (b)(2)(G), (d)(4)(A)).
What happens to whatever the tenant does not pick up?
After the 7-day period it is deemed abandoned, and the provider must remove or
dispose of it without further notice or obligation, by any lawful means
(subsec. (d)(5)). There is no sale or payment of proceeds to the tenant.
What if the landlord skips the required notices?
The tenant has a right to injunctive relief, including a stay of the eviction
until the 21-day and eviction-day notice requirements are met (subsec. (g)).
Statutes and sources
-
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(a), (h). No removal of an evicted tenant's property
except as provided; "time of eviction" defined as the Marshals' execution of the
writ of restitution. D.C. Law Library
(accessed July 22, 2026). -
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(b). 21-day advance notice, its three delivery
methods, the abandoned-after-7-days warning, and the access-rights disclosure.
D.C. Law Library
(accessed July 22, 2026). -
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(c), (d)(2)-(4). Lock change and legal possession,
7-day in-unit storage with reasonable care, and the free 16-hour access right
with injunctive backstop. D.C. Law Library
(accessed July 22, 2026). -
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(d)(5). Property deemed abandoned after 7 days,
disposal without further obligation, and the bar on outdoor dumping. D.C. Law
Library
(accessed July 22, 2026). -
D.C. Code § 42-3505.01a(e), (f), (g). Civil-liability immunity for lawful
disposal, the DC Housing Authority carve-out, and injunctive relief for notice
failures. D.C. Law Library
(accessed July 22, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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