DC post walk-through & tenant advocacy

[Rosalina Escandon]

Hello, REI Gurus! I'm new to BP and I'm hoping that this community can provide some guidance as we navigate a current tenant situation. My husband and I own a property in SE DC that we rent out per room, a shared house. We had DCRA do an inspection to show that we needed repairs done to the home to grant a safe living environment and it failed. One tenant, in particular, was pushing back despite our waiving rent so they could live somewhere else while repairs were being done which they declined. Repairs included new roof, new windows, outdoor paint, and new kitchen cabinets.

My first question is do, I need to do a walk-through with them present. I've read through quite a bit of DC related materials but nothing states that tenants need to be present. As the landlord, we may withhold the deposit for any reason stated in the lease. Such as not providing 60-day notice. ie Tenant A moving due to starting law school which she made me aware of back in March. We agreed to a lease that states that she must provide 60-day notice, pay for the remainder of the 60 days, or find a tenant to replace her, in this case, she owes August rent because she gave the 60 days and stayed for 30. She now says that there was an agreement when she provided her intent to vacate letter and is not required to do so according to the tenant advocate. She is claiming that the house would uninhabitable but tenant advocacy required me to not move forward with certain work to prevent this. Therefore it's inhabitable.

I would appreciate any advice as to how to proceed, resources or lawyers I can consult. I'm supposed to do a move-out walk-through with the three tenants this evening and considering canceling until I get additional details.