Evicting the Unhoused
No 30-Day Notice Required?
In the nation’s capital, if you’re a landlord and want to regain possession of your property from a non-paying tenant, brace yourself, you’ll need patience, a lawyer, and perhaps a prayer circle. Between notices, court dates, tenant rights hearings, and potential appeals, the process can feel like a slow march through bureaucratic molasses. But what happens when the government wants to clear encampments from public land? Apparently, the rules are different.
During the Trump administration, there was a push to “clean up” public spaces, and that included rapidly dismantling homeless encampments across Washington, DC and other cities. With a few posted signs, a stern announcement, and maybe a bulldozer or two, entire communities of unhoused individuals were removed with a speed and efficiency that most landlords can only dream about.
Imagine it: No 30-day notice (English & Spanish). No business license, No summons. No waiting on a court date with a docket number 87 spaces long. Just a “you have until Thursday” and boom the tents are gone. Belongings? Bagged or trashed. No protective orders. No right to counsel. No hearings about hardship or appeals for more time. Just a swift, state-sanctioned “eviction,” but only for the economically disadvantaged and property-less.
Two Systems, One City
The irony isn’t lost on DC Landlords who are legally barred from reclaiming their private property without a court order. In Washington DC, often referred to as one of the most tenant-friendly jurisdictions in the country, landlords must follow a very specific process to remove someone who hasn’t paid rent for months (or even years). And God forbid you attempt to change the locks or remove a door without permission, that’s an illegal eviction, subject to fines and lawsuits.
But public officials, apparently, are exempt from this tedious ritual. The same government that rightly tells landlords to respect due process has been known to show up with police escorts and city sanitation trucks to “relocate” vulnerable populations with far less notice and due process than what’s required for private housing disputes.
Let’s Be Clear
Homelessness is a deeply complex crisis, and public safety, sanitation, and access to services are valid concerns. But we can’t pretend there’s fairness in a system where the unhoused are moved like chess pieces while landlords must jump through legal hoops for months/ years to address even the most egregious lease violations.
It raises an uncomfortable question: Is due process only for those who can afford to rent or own property?
Until then, DC Landlords will keep jumping through hoops and navigating the proper channels.