Title 42, Real Property.

(1) The amount of the tenant assistance payment shall be the amount by which the actual rent or fair market rent applicable to the family, whichever is lower, exceeds 30% of the family’s monthly income. Where the head of household is an elderly tenant or tenant with a disability,…

(a) Rental units which the Department determines are decent, safe, and sanitary as required by the housing regulations, any other statute or regulation governing the condition of residential premises, and the requirements of this subchapter are eligible for tenant assistance. (b)…

Sixty days prior to the expiration of any tenant assistance authorized under this subchapter, the Department shall notify the tenant, in writing, that the tenant assistance is about to expire and that the tenant, if eligible and desiring to continue to receive tenant assistance, …

(a) If, at any time, a tenant receiving tenant assistance fails to satisfy the requirements of this subchapter relating to conditions of eligibility, the tenant shall immediately notify the Department, in writing, of the ineligibility. Tenant assistance shall terminate on the nex…

All monies received by any tenant through the Tenant Assistance Program under this subchapter are exempt from District income taxes payable under Chapter 18 of Title 47.

(a)(1) Each housing provider not exempt from rental control pursuant to § 42-3502.05(a) or (e), except those exempt pursuant to § 42-3502.05(a)(3), shall pay an annual rental unit fee of $30 for each rental unit in a housing accommodation registered by the housing provider. The r…

(a) There is established as a special fund the Rental Unit Fee Fund ("Fund"), which shall be administered by the Office of the Tenant Advocate in accordance with subsection (c) of this section. (b) The source of revenue for the Fund shall be the fee charged to a housing provider …

(a)(1) Except as provided in this section, no tenant shall be evicted from a rental unit, notwithstanding the expiration of the tenant's lease or rental agreement, so long as the tenant continues to pay the rent to which the housing provider is entitled for the rental unit; provi…

(a) A housing provider shall not remove an evicted tenant's personal property from a rental unit except as provided in this section. (b)(1) In addition to any notification from the United States Marshals Service ("Marshals") to the tenant of the date of eviction, a housing provid…

(a) No housing provider shall take any retaliatory action against any tenant who exercises any right conferred upon the tenant by this chapter, by any rule or order issued pursuant to this chapter, or by any other provision of law. Retaliatory action may include any action or pro…

(a) There is established a conciliation and arbitration service (“service”) within the Division. (b) The service shall provide a voluntary, nonadversarial forum for the resolution of disputes arising between housing providers and tenants in the District. (c) The staff of the serv…

(a) By mutual consent, the housing provider and tenant may submit for arbitration any dispute not satisfactorily resolved under § 42-3505.03. (b) A request for arbitration shall be in writing. (c) The Rent Administrator shall designate 3 members of the Division’s staff, other tha…

(a) It is unlawful for a housing provider to discriminate against families receiving or eligible to receive Tenant Assistance Program assistance, elderly tenants, or families with children when renting housing accommodations. (b) Any protections provided by subsection (a) of this…

(a) For purposes of this section, the term: (1) “CPI” means the average of the Consumer Price Index for the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan Statistical Area for all-urban consumers published by the Department of Labor, or any successor index, as of the close of the 12-month per…

(a) For purposes of this section, the term “qualified third party” means any of the following persons acting in their official capacity: (1) A law enforcement officer, as defined in § 4-1301.02(15); (2) A sworn officer of the D.C. Housing Authority Office of Public Safety; (3) A …

(a) Upon the written request of a tenant who is the victim of an intrafamily offense, as defined in § 16-1001(8), a housing provider shall change the locks to all entrance doors to that tenant’s unit within 5 business days; provided, that if the perpetrator of the intrafamily off…

(a) The Superior Court of the District of Columbia ("Superior Court") shall seal all court records relating to an eviction proceeding: (1) If the eviction proceeding does not result in a judgment for possession in favor of the housing provider, 30 days after the final resolution …

(a) Before requesting any information or fees from a prospective tenant as a part of tenant screening, a housing provider shall first notify the prospective tenant in writing, or by posting in a manner accessible to a prospective tenant: (1) The amount and purpose of each fee or …

(a) Beginning on January 1, 2027, a housing provider, or any third party contracted by the housing provider, shall not separately charge tenants, other than through monthly rent, for the utility charges accrued by the housing accommodation for its common spaces or vacant units. (…

(a) Pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, a housing provider may charge a late fee of no more than 5% of the full amount of rent due by a tenant. (b) A housing provider may only charge a late fee: (1) If the written lease agreement between the housing provider and the tenan…

(a) For the purposes of this section, the term: (1) "Reasonable notice" means written notice provided to the tenant at least 48 hours before the time the housing provider wishes to enter the unit or a shorter period of time as agreed to by the tenant in writing. Written notice ma…

If a tenant refuses to take possession of a rental unit in bad faith, or vacates a rental unit before the end of a lease term, any actual damages the housing provider may be entitled to shall be subject to the duty of the housing provider to mitigate actual damages for breach of …

Any provision that requires a tenant to provide more than a 30-day notice to the housing provider of the tenant's intention to vacate the premises upon the expiration of an initial lease term shall be void and unenforceable, unless the lease explicitly states that the provision e…

(a) A residential tenancy from month-to-month may be terminated by a 30-day notice in writing only from the tenant to the housing provider of the tenant's intention to quit. The notice shall expire on the first day of the first month at least 30 days after the date of the notice.…

A housing provider may, in its sole and absolute discretion, prohibit subletting of the premise or assigning a lease, either in part or in full; provided, that the prohibition is included in the lease. Where the lease provision allows subletting subject to the housing provider's …

*NOTE: This section was created by emergency legislation that will expire on November 11, 2026.* (a) The Mayor may establish and administer a rent payment reporting program ("program") under which a rental housing provider shall offer a tenant the option to report the tenant's re…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall convert and the Mayor shall not permit the conversion of any housing accommodation or rental unit into a hotel, motel, inn, or other transient residential occupancy unit or accommodation.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall demolish and the Mayor shall not permit the demolition of any housing accommodation or rental unit for the purpose of constructing or expanding a hotel, motel, inn, or other transient residential accommodation. (b) N…

No housing provider shall substantially rehabilitate, demolish, or discontinue any housing accommodation unless there has first been served upon each tenant residing in the housing accommodation a written notice of intent to rehabilitate, demolish, or discontinue the housing acco…

Each housing provider commencing substantial rehabilitation, demolition, or housing discontinuance, on or after July 17, 1985, shall pay relocation assistance in an amount calculated under § 42-3507.03 to all tenants of the housing accommodation who: (1) Were living in the rental…

(a) Until the Mayor establishes the amount of relocation assistance pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the amount of relocation assistance payable to a displaced tenant shall be calculated as follows: (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, relocation…

Whenever a building in the District is converted from rental to condominium units, substantially rehabilitated or demolished, or discontinued from housing use, the Relocation Assistance Office of the Department of Housing and Community Development shall provide relocation advisor…

The Department of Buildings shall provide for the continuation of a tenant hot line. The primary purpose of the tenant hot line is to provide assistance to low- and moderate-income tenants. To carry out this purpose, the functions and responsibilities shall include, but not be li…

In order to assist in stimulating the expansion of the supply of decent, safe, and affordable rental housing for low- to moderate-income persons in the District, the Council declares as its policy that the Mayor and the Council shall: (1) Use the District’s bonding authority to p…

(a) There shall be an 80% reduction of the property tax liability during the first year newly constructed rental housing accommodations become available for rental. Tax for succeeding years shall be increased by increments of 16% of the full tax liability, until the time the full…

(a) Where vacant rental accommodations are being rehabilitated under this subchapter, the Mayor may defer or forgive any outstanding water and sewer fees owed by the property. (b) A project under this section shall be subject to certification by the Mayor that it is in the best i…

(a) The Mayor may establish and administer a distressed property improvement program to assist those housing accommodations which meet the requirements of § 42-3501.03(9). (b) The distressed property improvement program may include any or all of the following: (1) A 5-year deferr…

(a) Upon petition by the housing provider, the Mayor may initiate the development of a distressed property improvement plan utilizing any or all of the mechanisms in § 42-3508.04(b). The development of the plan shall involve the participation of the housing provider, the tenants …

(a) The Mayor may provide tax abatements and deferral or forgiveness of water and sewer fees and other indebtedness to the District as incentives for the development of single-room-occupancy housing for low- and moderate-income tenants. These incentives shall be provided pursuant…

(a) Any person who knowingly (1) demands or receives any rent for a rental unit in excess of the maximum allowable rent applicable to that rental unit under the provisions of subchapter II of this chapter, or (2) substantially reduces or eliminates related services previously pro…

The Rent Administrator, Rental Housing Commission, or a court of competent jurisdiction may award reasonable attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in any action under this chapter, except actions for eviction authorized under § 42-3505.01.

This chapter shall be considered to supersede the Rental Accommodations Act of 1975, the Rental Housing Act of 1977, and the Rental Housing Act of 1980, except that a petition filed with the Rent Administrator under the Rental Housing Act of 1980 shall be determined under the pro…

(a) Unless otherwise provided by Rental Housing Commission regulations, any information or document required to be served upon any person shall be served upon that person, or the representative designated by that person or by the law to receive service of the documents. When a pa…

All subchapters of this chapter, except subchapters III and V and § 42-3509.08, shall terminate on December 31, 2030.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law or rule to the contrary, for the purpose of determining whether any housing accommodation is in compliance with applicable housing rules or construction code rules, the Mayor may enter upon and into any housing accommodation in the District, duri…

(a) A housing provider who reduces the number of units in a housing accommodation containing more than 3 and fewer than 11 units, each with a separate certificate of occupancy, including vacant buildings, shall pay the Mayor a fee of 5% of the appraised value of the most valuable…