Posts Tagged ‘debts’

Landlord Tenant Court: The No-Interpreter Defense Won’t Fly

Posted by Amanda Hess on Jun. 25, 2009, at 1:57 pm

One tenant who cycled through D.C. Superior Court this morning had an interesting excuse for failing to pay her rent: She didn’t understand the lease agreement.

The tenant landed in court back in March for failing to pay $7,000 in back rent to her landlord. When she finally forked over the payment, she also signed a new agreement stating that she wouldn’t be late on rent again.

She was late in June, landlord Barrington Bowen claims—and now she owes him an additional $1,150 in rent, plus fees. The landlord wasn’t happy to be involved in a second run-around. “I’m tired of chasing after this woman,” he told the court. “I’ve had it, and I want my property back.”