District of Columbia Administrative Code

3703 AMOUNT OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE 3703.1 Low and moderate income applicants may receive a one-time loan not to exceed ($10,000) for use as a down payment or closing cost. 3703.2 The amount of financial assistance provided to an applicant shall not exceed the combined loan to va…

3704 TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LOANS 3704.1 Loans made under this Program are repayable at an interest rate of at least three percent (3%). The Director may adjust the interest rate as needed to support the objective of the program. 3704.2 Loans made under this Program shall requir…

3705 DETERMINATION OF INCOME LIMITS 3705.1 The Department shall establish income limits for low and moderate income households in accordance with the requirements of this section and consistent with the definition of these households in § 3799 of this chapter. 3705.2 The Departme…

3799 DEFINITIONS 3799.1 The following terms and phrases shall have the meaning ascribed here. In addition to the definitions ascribed here, those definitions included in Chapter 25 (Home Purchase Assistance Program) of Title 14 DCMR (Housing) are incorporated herein by reference,…

3800 GENERAL OPERATING PROVISIONS 3800.1 The Rental Housing Commission (“Commission”) shall establish, with the approval of a majority of its membership, internal operating procedures for the handling of the Commission’s business and the fair distribution of work among its member…

3801 FILING OF PLEADINGS, MOTIONS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 3801.1 All pleadings, motions, and other documents that a person wishes to submit to the Commission shall be filed by delivering them in person or by U.S. mail to the Commission’s staff at One Judiciary Square, 441 4th Street…

3802 FILING AND ARGUING APPEALS 3802.1 Any party aggrieved in whole or in part by a final order of the Rent Administrator or the Office of Administrative Hearings on a matter arising under the Act may obtain review of the order by filing a notice of appeal with the Commission. 38…

3803 SERVICE OF PLEADINGS, MOTIONS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 3803.1 All pleadings, motions, and other documents required to be served on any person under this chapter shall be served on that person or shall be served on the representative designated by a party, as provided in § 3812, …

3804 RECORD ON APPEAL: FILING, COMPOSITION, NOTICE, AND CORRECTION 3804.1 Upon receipt of a notice of appeal pursuant to § 3802.2 or the initiation of a review by the Commission pursuant to § 3808.1, the Clerk shall request in writing that the Rent Administrator or the Office of …

3805 STAY PENDING APPEAL OR JUDICIAL REVIEW 3805.1 If a party files a timely notice of appeal with the Commission from a final order of the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings, any relief provided by that order shall be stayed. No party shall be required to pa…

3806 ESCROW ACCOUNTS AND SUPERSEDEAS BONDS 3806.1 While an appeal is pending before the Commission or a petition for review is pending before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, in order to guarantee later payment of a disputed amount of money, any party may request that a…

3807 STANDARDS OF REVIEW 3807.1 The Commission shall reverse a final order of the Rent Administrator or the Office of Administrative Hearings that the Commission finds to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, not in accordance with the provisions of the Act, or that c…

3808 COMMISSION-INITIATED REVIEWS 3808.1 After the time for any party to file a notice of appeal has expired pursuant to § 3802.2, the Commission may, within thirty (30) days, initiate a review of any final order of the Rent Administrator or the Office of Administrative Hearings …

3809 PARTIES 3809.1 A case before the Commission shall be captioned as each appellant versus each appellee, and shall designate the intervenor, if any. If the Commission has initiated the review or if a petition has been adjudicated by the Office of Administrative Hearings withou…

3810 INTERVENORS AND AMICUS CURIAE BRIEFS 3810.1 Any person that is not a party to an appeal, but that has a direct, substantial, and personal interest in a case pending before the Commission, may file in writing a motion for leave to intervene. 3810.2 A motion to intervene shall…

3811 CONSOLIDATION OF APPEALS 3811.1 If two (2) or more parties are entitled to an appeal from an order of the Rent Administrator or the Office of Administrative Hearings, and their interests are such as to make consolidation practicable, they may file a joint notice of appeal, o…

3812 APPEARANCES AND REPRESENTATION 3812.1 In any appeal before the Commission, a party may be represented as follows: (a) Any person may be represented by an attorney or other person who may provide legal services in accordance with § 3812.8; (b) An individual or a beneficiary o…

3813 WITHDRAWAL OF APPEARANCE 3813.1 If an attorney or other person representing a party wishes to withdraw from a case pending before the Commission, a written motion to withdraw shall be filed in accordance with § 3814. 3813.2 An attorney or other representative who has not bee…

3814 MOTIONS 3814.1 A request for the Commission to take a particular action shall be made by filing a written motion or making a motion orally at a hearing, unless a rule in this chapter requires that the particular type of motion be made in writing. If the Commission does not r…

3815 CONTINUANCES, LATE FILINGS, AND AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS 3815.1 Any party may request, by motion, a continuance of a scheduled hearing at least five (5) days before its scheduled date. The motion shall propose at least two (2) new dates and times for the scheduled hearing that…

3816 CALCULATION OF DEADLINES 3816.1 Where this chapter or any order of the Commission specifies a time period, any reference to “days” shall mean all calendar days, unless specifically designated as “business days.” 3816.2 “Business days,” where expressly used in this chapter or…

3817 SUBPOENAS 3817.1 The Commission may issue a subpoena requiring the production of documents or the attendance and testimony of witnesses, or a subpoena may be issued by the Commission on its own initiative. 3817.2 A subpoena issued by the Commission shall: (a) Be issued in wr…

3818 EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS 3818.1 An ex parte communication is any oral or written communication that is: (a) To or by a Commissioner or member of the Commission’s staff; (b) Regarding the merits or factual substance of a particular case; and (c) Not made: (1) At a scheduled he…

3819 HEARINGS 3819.1 In hearing appeals, the Commission shall sit as a body with a quorum of the Commission present. All hearings shall be conducted as meetings on the record in accordance with §§ 3800.4-3800.8, and at the conclusion of all permitted arguments at the hearing, the…

3820 RECORDINGS AND TRANSCRIPTS 3820.1 The entire proceedings of Commission hearings and meetings on the record shall be recorded electronically and shall be permanently retained by the Commission. 3820.2 A copy of the recording of a public meeting or hearing, or public portion t…

3821 DECISIONS ON APPEALS 3821.1 Unless an appeal is otherwise dismissed pursuant to an order issued in accordance with this chapter, the Commission shall dispose of all appeals on the merits by issuing a final decision and order. Each final decision and order shall be issued by …

3822 REMANDS 3822.1 A remand is an order of the Commission to return a case on appeal, in whole or limited to one or more issues raised in the appeal, to the Office of Administrative Hearings or the Rent Administrator for further action. 3822.2 The Commission may order a remand o…

3823 RECONSIDERATION OR MODIFICATION 3823.1 Any party adversely affected by a final decision and order of the Commission that affirms, reverses, or remands a case, or an order that dismisses an appeal, may file a motion for reconsideration or modification with the Commission with…

3824 WITHDRAWAL OF APPEALS 3824.1 An appellant may file a motion to withdraw an appeal pending before the Commission. 3824.2 The Commission shall review all motions to withdraw to ensure that the interests of all parties are protected. 3824.3 Where a party seeks to withdraw its a…

3825 ATTORNEY’S FEES 3825.1 Attorney’s fees may be awarded to a party for fees incurred in the administrative adjudication of a petition before the Rent Administrator, the Office of Administrative Hearings, or the Rental Housing Commission, pursuant to § 902 of the Act (D.C. Offi…

3826 INTEREST 3826.1 The Office of Administrative Hearings or the Commission may impose simple interest on a rent refund ordered pursuant to § 901(a) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3509.01(a)) and §§ 4217.1 and 4217.2 of this title, or on an award of attorney’s fees pursuant…

3827 FINES AND INFRACTIONS 3827.1 In accordance with the provisions of § 901 of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3509.01), the Commission shall hear and decide appeals involving fines for infractions or violations of the Act. The Commission may impose fines not exceeding five tho…

3828 COMMISSION PROCEDURES GENERALLY 3828.1 When this chapter is silent on a procedural issue before the Commission, that issue may be decided by using as guidance, first, the Rules of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals or, second, the District of Columbia Superior Court R…

3829 SETTLEMENTS, STIPULATIONS, AND MEDIATION 3829.1 An appeal, any issue in an appeal, or any liability or remedy under the Act may be resolved or disposed of by settlement, stipulation, or other agreement. This may occur in cases on appeal before the Commission at any time befo…

3830 INVOLUNTARY DISMISSAL 3830.1 The Commission may dismiss an appeal for failure to comply with these rules or for any other lawful reason. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 3830 …

3831 RULEMAKING 3831.1 The Commission, on its own initiative, as required by law, or based on a request by any person, agency, or association, may issue, amend, or rescind any rules under the Act by publication in accordance with § 105 of the District of Columbia Administrative P…

3899 DEFINITIONS 3899.1 The provisions of this section shall be applicable to Chapters 38-44 of this title. 3899.2 The following words and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed: Act – the Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective July 17, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-10; D.C. Official Code §§…

3900 THE RENT ADMINISTRATOR 3900.1 The Rent Administrator, in addition to other duties, shall: (a) Carry out the administration of the Rent Stabilization Program, including the receipt and maintenance of records of registrations, exemptions, rent levels, and petitions; (b) Receiv…

3901 FILING PETITIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS 3901.1 All petitions and other documents to be filed with the Rent Administrator shall be received in the Department of Housing and Community Development, Housing Regulation Administration, Rental Accommodations Division, Housing Resource…

3902 PROCEDURES UPON FILING PETITION 3902.1 Upon receipt of a petition or initiation of another proceeding, the Rent Administrator shall assign a case number to it, using the following prefixes: DOCUMENT PREFIX (a) Tenant Petitions TP (b) Hardship Petitions HP (c) Capital Improve…

3903 RIGHT TO HEARING AND DISPOSITION WITHOUT HEARING 3903.1 If a petition or other application requires an evidentiary hearing pursuant to the Act or Chapters 41-44 of this title, including those listed in § 3900.2, the Rent Administrator, after making any initial determinations…

3904 PARTIES 3904.1 Proceedings on a petition or application pending before the Rent Administrator shall individually identify each petitioner and each respondent named by the petitioner or each person electing to contest the petition or application, as applicable. 3904.2 If a pe…

3905 PARTIES 3905.1 In order to achieve uniformity of pleadings before the Rent Administrator in all proceedings arising under the Act, all cases arising from complaints and petitions shall be properly captioned as provided in this section. 3905.2 Captions shall contain the name …

3906 SUBSTITUTION OR ADDITION OF PARTIES 3906.1 In the event of the death, dissolution, reorganization, or change of ownership or interest of a party, the Rent Administrator may, upon his or her own motion when such an event is suggested by any documents filed, or upon the motion…

3907 INTERVENORS 3907.1 There shall be no intervenors as a matter of right in Rental Accommodations Division proceedings, but intervenors may be permitted to participate in the proceeding prior to a hearing if the proceedings will directly affect their rights or duties and is oth…

3908 EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF A PROCEEDING 3908.1 If, prior to the transfer by the Rent Administrator of a tenant petition to the Office of Administrative Hearings, the Rent Administrator determines that the issues raised in the petition may affect other tenants or all tenants in t…

3909 CONSOLIDATION OF PETITIONS 3909.1 The Rent Administrator may consolidate two (2) or more petitions where they contain identical or similar issues or where they involve the same rental unit or housing accommodation. 3909.2 The Rent Administrator may consolidate petitions on t…

3910 [RESERVED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1356 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 3910 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

3911 SERVICE OF NOTICE 3911.1 All petitions and other documents required to be served upon any person under this chapter shall be served upon that person or the representative designated by a party, as provided in § 3918, in the manner provided in this section. All petitions and …

3912 CALCULATION OF DEADLINES 3912.1 Where this chapter or any order of the Rent Administrator specifies a time period, any reference to “days” shall mean all calendar days, unless specifically designated as “business days.” 3912.2 “Business days,” where expressly used in this ch…