Vacate for a whole month?? And your lease is active? I would recommend calling OTA just to ensure this is all above board.

Vacating for a whole month seems like a lot...they don't have another unit they can put you in for your extreme inconvenience? I don't know what if anything can be done but I would def call the OTA because a month is a lot. And I'd hope they're paying for any expenses as well.

I definitely will. I asked about staying in another unit in the building but they haven’t gotten back to me yet. They’re not asking for money for repairs but they asked us to go through rental insurance for expenses, but my claim was denied because technically the damage occurred prior to my coverage being active.

Yeah I'd see what they say. I've had an apartment do renovations for a week while I was living in it and they put me up in a hotel that was paid for and also gave me free rent for the month. Didn't call OTA because I was satisfied with that but a month is a long time to be out of your apartment.

Unless the repairs are needed due to damage that was caused by you, you definitely should not be filing a claim with your renters insurance. If anything, you should be filing a claim with their property insurance.

It was a leak in plumbing that went undetected, so not caused by me.

Then it sounds like the landlord is trying to take advantage of your ignorance. You are in no way, shape, or form responsible for the repairs on that and likely entitled to compensation from them for the cost of moving, renting somewhere else, and any damage done to your personal property by the water leak. Them telling you to file a claim with your renter's insurance for something that they are likely liable for is a huge red flag.

Call and email DC OTA and find out your rights. They also have emergency resources and procedures for displacement cases like this.

That is excellent advice. Thank you so much. This is my first time dealing with any of this so I’m totally lost.

Best of luck! Landlords often take naive tenants for a ride every chance they get, especially large buildings where they know what they can get away with when tenants don't know any better. It's not your fault. Luckily, DC tenant rights are pretty strong and protective if you know better.

I really can’t appreciate you enough, I didn’t even know OTA existed. Thank you

I don't see why you need to move out . The leak is in one pipe . Near your bathroom or kitchen.

They should be able to fix this in one day or 3-4 max if they know where the leak is

The leak has been fixed, it was under the kitchen sink. The issue is that water damage extended to the floors, and since they don’t have the same finish anymore they need to replace all the floors. But I’m not sure why redoing a kitchen island and replacing hardwood floor takes one month.

Changing the floors takes 3 days approx. Once they get the floors, they can pay for Airbnb or hotel 3-4 days .

They can install the kitchen island while you are there . Takes 1-2 days

Yeah I’m not sure where the time estimate came from, and I haven’t heard back when I asked for a list of repairs.

They shouldn't inconvenience you more than is needed in terms of time. And they should pay for your trouble.

I’m definitely looking forward to my conversation with OTA tomorrow morning!

I would fully expect and demand compensation and/or accommodations from the building management.