DC Rental Property Guide: Here is a Step-By-Step Guide to owning rental property in DC

1. Register for a Basic Business License (BBL) with DCRA

• • License Types:

    • One Family Rental - $198 - includes single-family homes, townhouses, duplexes, individual condo units, individual rooms in a residential building that licensee also occupies

    • Two Family Rental - $283.80-  rental of English basement apartment, converted basement apartment, carriage house, or single family home where the main residence is occupied but the property owner or another tenant

    • Apartment - $454.20 for 3 units to $883.30 for 10 units -  buildings with three or more dwelling units

    • Short Term Rental - - Allowed at host's primary residence while host is living on the property (e.g. bedroom). As long as host is present, there is no limit on the number of stays allowed during a calendar year. However, each short-term rental stay is limited to 30 or fewer continuous nights.

    • Vacation Rental - - Allowed at host's primary residence, without being present on property. (e.g. entire home). Cumulatively, vacation rentals cannot exceed 90 nights in any calendar year, and each rental is limited to 30 or fewer continuous nights

2. Rental BBL Inspection - See Checklist Here

3. Certificate of Occupancy or Home Occupation Permit

4. Lead Inspection and Lead Certificate - not required for DC, but Lead Disclosures and Lead Pamphlet are required

5. Generate your Lease

   1. Legal Lease Agreement

   2. DC has specific documents you must include with every lease

      1. Tenant Bill of Rights

      2. Lead Paint Documents

Short Term Rental in DC

• Link: https://dlcp.dc.gov/shorttermrentals

• Link to DC's Official Short Term Rental Guide.

• What is a Short-Term Rental? A short-term rental (STR) allows a host to offer fee-based lodging at their primary residence while the host is present on the property e.g. a bedroom within a home. As long as the host is present, there is no limit on the number of stays allowed during a calendar year; however, each short-term rental stay is limited to 30 or fewer continuous nights. 

• What is a Vacation Rental? A vacation rental is a type of short-term rental that allows a host to offer fee-based lodging at their primary residence without being present on the property e.g. use of the entire home. Cumulatively, vacation rentals cannot exceed 90 nights in any calendar year, and each rental is limited to 30 or fewer continuous nights.

Requirements to apply for a Short Term or Vacation Rental:

• Proof of liability insurance with a minimum of $250,000 in coverage must be provided – this may be obtained through a rental platform or from an insurance company.

• A Certificate of Clean Hands issued within the last 30 days in the property owners name must be obtained from the Office of Tax and Revenue.

• If the rental is a co-op, condo, or if the property is in a community where there is a homeowners’ association, the owner must attest that the bylaws, house rules, or other governing documents of the homeowner/condo/ cooperative governing board or association allow short-term and/or vacation rentals, do not prohibit owners from operating short-term rentals and/or vacation rentals, or that they have received written permission from the association to operate a short-term and/or vacation rental at the address.

Things to Know and Steps to Apply for Your Short-Term Rental License

1. All DLCP systems, including the District of Columbia Short-Term Rental Licensure platform, require customers to have a single sign-on, Access DC, account to use our systems. If you already have an Access DC account, you can skip this step. If you do not, it is easy to sign up.

2. Visit the District of Columbia Short-Term Rental Licensing Platform to begin the licensing application process. You will be asked to provide basic contact information to register for the licensing platform.

3. After registering, you will be asked to link your license platform account with the address where you will be conducting short-term rentals.

4. Once your address has been verified, you will be asked to complete the full license application and pay the licensing fees. To assist you in being prepared to submit your license application, please have the following information available and ready to upload to the platform:

   • Clean Hands Certificate issued within the last 30 days in the property owner's name (request from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue)

   • Proof of liability insurance (a minimum of $250,000 in coverage)

   • Completed Short-Term/Vacation Rental Attestation Form if your property is in an association (HOA, condo, CoOp, etc.)

   • Credit/debit card to pay license fees

Additional Requirements

• There must be unobstructed egress from the rental property, and working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, and a portable fire extinguisher, are required.

• Hosts must provide a 24-hour accessible phone number to reach themselves, or their representatives, for emergencies.

• The host must post the Short-Term Rental or Vacation Rental License conspicuously inside the property.

• All applicable transient lodging taxes, which will be collected by booking services on behalf of hosts, must be paid.

• Records of each booking must be maintained for a period of two years.

• Investment properties and those owned by corporate entities are not eligible.

Fees

The total cost for either license is $104.50 for a two-year license. This includes a $70.00 processing fee, a $25.00 endorsement fee, and a 10% platform fee.

DC Housing HCVP Sub-Market Rents

Click Link to see DC HCVP rents.