District of Columbia Administrative Code

3913 CONCILIATION OF DISPUTES AND THE CONCILIATION SERVICE 3913.1 Either a housing provider or a tenant may initiate a request for conciliation of a dispute arising under the Act by the Rental Accommodations Division Conciliation Service established by § 503 of the Act (D.C. Offi…

3914 ARBITRATION 3914.1 By mutual agreement, both the housing provider and the tenant(s) who are parties to a dispute under this Act, may file with the Rent Administrator, on a form published by the Rent Administrator, a request for arbitration of any dispute not satisfactorily c…

3915 ADVISORY OPINIONS 3915.1 The Rent Administrator may issue, at the request of any person, an advisory opinion on issues of first impression relating to specific proposed actions under the Act or Chapters 39-44 of this title. 3915.2 Advisory opinions shall not be issued to a p…

3916 EX PARTE COMMUNICATIONS 3916.1 An ex parte communication is any oral or written communication that is: (a) To or by the Rent Administrator or staff of the Rental Accommodations Division; (b) Regarding the merits or factual substance of a particular case; and (c) Not made: (1…

3917 BURDEN OF PROOF 3917.1 The proponent of a rule or order shall have the burden of establishing each finding of fact essential to the rule or order by a preponderance of evidence, except claims or defenses for which the burden is shifted as provided by the Act, Chapters 41-44 …

3918 APPEARANCES AND REPRESENTATION 3918.1 In any proceeding before the Rent Administrator, 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 § 3918.8; (b) An individual or ben…

3919 OFFICIAL RECORD OF A PROCEEDING 3919.1 The official record of a petition or complaint filed with the Rental Accommodations Division shall consist of the following: (a) All decisions or orders of the Rent Administrator; (b) All notices, transcripts, documents, and exhibits fi…

3920 MOTIONS 3920.1 A request for the Rent Administrator to take a particular action shall be made by filing a written motion. 3920.2 Motions shall be filed with the Rent Administrator in accordance with § 3901 and served on other parties in accordance with § 3911. 3920.3 A writt…

3921 OFFICIAL NOTICE 3921.1 During the disposition of a petition or complaint, the Rent Administrator, on his or her own motion or on the motion of a party, may take official notice of the following: (a) Matters of common knowledge; (b) Any information contained in the record of …

3922 INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS 3922.1 An interlocutory appeal is an appeal taken by a party prior to the issuance of a final decision and order by the Rent Administrator in a proceeding. 3922.2 An interlocutory appeal shall be permitted only if the Rent Administrator certifies the is…

3923 DECISIONS OF THE RENT ADMINISTRATOR 3923.1 The Rent Administrator shall issue a final order for each petition, application, or complaint filed with the Rental Accommodations Division for which the Rent Administrator retains jurisdiction and is not required to transfer the ma…

3924 RECONSIDERATION OR MODIFICATION OF FINAL ORDERS 3924.1 Any party adversely affected by a final order of the Rent Administrator in a proceeding may file a motion for reconsideration or modification with the Rent Administrator within ten (10) business days of service of the or…

3925 LATE FILINGS AND AMENDMENT OF PLEADINGS 3925.1 When a party is allowed to or required to take action within a specific time period under this chapter or an order of the Rent Administrator, the party may request, by motion, an extension of the time period, even after the peri…

3926 SHOW CAUSE ORDERS 3926.1 A show cause proceeding may be initiated by the Rent Administrator after an investigation by the Rent Administrator has resulted in a determination that there are substantial grounds to believe that violations of the Act may have occurred. 3926.2 The…

3927 COMPLIANCE 3927.1 The Rent Administrator shall issue a notice of non-compliance when an investigation results in a determination that a failure to comply with an order of the Rent Administrator, Office of Administrative Hearings, or the Commission may have occurred. 3927.2 A…

3928 RELIEF FROM JUDGMENT 3928.1 On motion and upon such terms as are just, the Rent Administrator may relieve a party from a final order issued by the Rent Administrator for the following reasons: (a) Mistake, inadvertence, surprise, excusable neglect; (b) Newly discovered evide…

3929 RENT ADMINISTRATOR PROCEDURES GENERALLY 3929.1 When these rules are silent on a procedural issue before the Rent Administrator, issues must be decided by using as guidance the current rules of civil procedure published and followed by the Superior Court of the District of Co…

3930 ATTORNEY’S FEES-RENT ADMINISTRATOR 3930.1 A prevailing party in a contested case may be awarded attorney’s fees for work performed while a matter is pending before the Rent Administrator and Rental Accommodations Division, in accordance with § 3825. 3930.2 A motion for attor…

3999 DEFINITIONS 3999.1 The provisions of § 3899 of Chapter 38 of this title and the definitions set forth in that section shall be applicable to this chapter. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housi…

400 GENERAL PROVISIONS 400.1 No owner, licensee, or tenant shall occupy or permit the occupancy of any habitation in violation of this subtitle. 400.2 Every owner or licensee shall advise each tenant in writing, either by insertion in the lease between the parties or otherwise, o…

401 PRIVACY 401.1 Common space shall be accessible to the occupants of every dwelling unit for which such space is provided without the necessity of going through another habitation. 401.2 Water closets, showers, and bathtubs shall be located in a room or compartment which afford…

402 OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENTS 402.1 Each dwelling unit shall contain the following minimum amount of floor area in order to comply with the occupancy requirements of this subtitle: (a) At least one hundred thirty square feet (130 ft.2) of floor area in habitable rooms for the first …

403 HABITABLE ROOMS 403.1 No room other than a habitable room shall be used for living or sleeping, or, in a dwelling unit, for the preparation of meals or for eating, except as provided otherwise in this section. 403.2 Each habitable room shall conform to the requirements of thi…

404 HABITABLE ROOMS PARTIALLY BELOW GROUND 404.1 Any room with more than fifty percent (50%) of any exterior wall area from floor to ceiling below ground level (using average level along each exterior wall) shall not be used as a habitable room, except as otherwise provided in th…

405 CEILING HEIGHT IN HABITABLE ROOMS 405.1 In any room that is otherwise a habitable room, only that portion of the room area that has a clear ceiling height of not less than seven feet (7 ft.) shall be counted as habitable room area, except as otherwise provided in this section…

406 SUBDIVISION OF HABITABLE ROOMS 406.1 No habitable room shall be divided in any manner into space intended for living, sleeping, eating, or cooking purposes by an installed partition or divider of any type above four feet (4 ft.) in height, unless each such subdivided part com…

499 DEFINITIONS 499.1 The definitions and provisions of section 199 of chapter 1 of this title shall be applicable to this chapter.

4000 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1361 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4000 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

4001 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1361 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 2656, 2657 (May 2, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Colu…

4002 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1361 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 2656, 2657-59 (May 2, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of C…

4003 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1362 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4003 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

4004 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1362-1364 (March 7, 1986); as amended by: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 2656, 2659 (May 2, 1986); and Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 3179 (May 23, 1986); as amended by Fi…

4005 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1364-65 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4005 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4006 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1365-66 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4006 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4007 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1365-66 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4007 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4008 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1366 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4008 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

4009 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1366-67 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4009 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4010 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1367-68 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4010 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4011 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1368 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4011 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

4012 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 2656, 2659-60 (May 2, 1986); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 3179 (May 23, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia…

4013 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1369 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 2656, 2660 (May 2, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Colu…

4014 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1370 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4014 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) …

4015 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1370-71 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4015 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4016 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1371-72 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4016 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(…

4017 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 33 DCR 1336, 1372 (March 7, 1986); as amended by Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 45 DCR 684, 687 (February 6, 1998); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of C…

4018 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 45 DCR 684, 687 (February 6, 1998); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4018 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1)…

4019 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Notice of Final Rulemaking published at 45 DCR 684, 687 (February 6, 1998); as amended by the Tenant Organization Petition Standing Amendment Act of 2010, effective September 24, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-226), published at 57 DCR 6920, 6921 (August 6, 2010); as a…

4099 [REPEALED] SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 68 DCR 012634 (December 3, 2021). District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Housing 14 DCMR § 4099 AUTHORITY: DC-DCMR Section 202(a)(1) of the Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective July 17, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-10; D.C. Official …

4100 SCOPE AND COVERAGE OF THE RENTAL HOUSING ACT 4100.1 The jurisdiction of the Rent Administrator and of the Rental Housing Commission extends to all rental units in the District of Columbia that are covered by the Act and to all housing accommodations in which a covered rental…

4101 REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS AND NOTICE 4101.1 Each rental unit covered by the Act, as provided by § 4100.3, and the housing accommodation of which a covered rental unit is a part, including rental units exempt from the Rent Stabilization Program, shall be registered with the R…