How to become a landlord in Washington, D.C.

When a prospective tenant files an application, you must give them the Rent Administrator's disclosure form with the supporting documents. It covers the rent, pending petitions and surcharges, how often rent may rise, the rent control or exempt status with the business license and registration, housing code violation reports from the past 12 months, the Rent Administrator's rent increase pamphlet, any nonrefundable application fee, the deposit, its interest rate and how it is returned, any conversion, ownership information, known indoor mold in the past 3 years, the Tenant Bill of Rights, and the voter registration packet. Lead paint and lead plumbing forms are also due before the tenant is bound by a lease (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1); D.C. Code § 8-231.04; D.C. Code § 42-3271).

• Keep a compilation of these forms in a publicly accessible spot in the building, update it within 30 days of a change, tell each tenant where it is, and give a tenant a free copy within 10 business days of a written request once a year (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(2)).
• Once a year, on a tenant's written request, provide within 10 business days each rent increase of the last 3 years and its basis (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(a)).
• Rent may not be increased while you willfully violate these duties, or fail to comply within 10 business days of written notice of a failure (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(c)).
• Before a lease is signed for a unit exempt from rent stabilization, the prospective tenant must get written notice that rent increases are not regulated by the rent stabilization program (D.C. Code § 42-3502.05(d)).
• Before screening, give the written notice of fees, criteria and applicant rights that the screening law requires (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(a)).See Application and screening fees on the Washington, D.C. page
• For a unit built before 1978, give the tenant the Mayor's lead disclosure form with what you reasonably know about lead-based paint, lead-based paint hazards and pending District orders before the tenant is bound by the lease (D.C. Code § 8-231.04(a)).
• If a child under 6 or a pregnant woman will live in or regularly visit a pre-1978 unit, also give a clearance report issued within the previous 12 months, unless you instead give a certification that the unit is lead-free or three clearance reports at least 12 months apart within the past 7 years with no recent housing code violations (D.C. Code § 8-231.04(b), (d); D.C. Code § 8-231.01(31)).
• Give the Mayor's form on tenant lead rights whenever a lease is signed or renewed and with each rent increase notice, and if you discover lead-based paint, tell the tenant within 10 days (D.C. Code § 8-231.04(e), (f)).
• Before a tenant signs or renews a lease, give the Mayor's lead plumbing disclosure form completed with what you know about water lead tests, lead-bearing plumbing, the lead water service line and any replacement, related fines, and whether DC Water lists the property; if you later learn of lead plumbing or a lead service line, tell the tenant within 48 hours and give the completed form (D.C. Code § 42-3271(a), (b)).

At application, the disclosure form must include the building's business license, its rent stabilization registration or claim of exemption, and the ownership information from the registration statement (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1)(E), (J)).

• For a unit that is not exempt from rent stabilization, file a notice of any change in ownership or management with the Rent Administrator within 30 days after the change (D.C. Code § 42-3502.05(a), (g)(1)(C)).
• To evict, you must show a current rental housing business license (D.C. Code § 42-3505.01(q); D.C. Code § 16-1501(c)).

No flood disclosure duty appears in the D.C. Code sections read for this page, including the list of disclosures due at application. Other District law was not searched for one (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1)).

• The application disclosure list covers code violations, mold and other items, but not flooding (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1)).See Required disclosures on the Washington, D.C. page

The owner of every occupied dwelling unit must install smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors as the District's Construction Codes require. The Construction Codes themselves were not read for this page (D.C. Code § 6-751.02).

• The older Code sections on detector locations, equipment and installation have been repealed in favor of the Construction Codes (D.C. Code § 6-751.03; D.C. Code § 6-751.05).

On the written request of a tenant who is a victim of an intrafamily offense, you must change the locks on every entrance door to the unit within 5 business days. No general rekeying rule appears in the sections read for this page, but you may not charge tenants a fee for lock services you must provide to keep the unit habitable and up to the housing code (D.C. Code § 42-3505.08; D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b-2)(1)(A)).

• If the offender lives in the same unit, the tenant must give you a protection order; otherwise no documentation is required (D.C. Code § 42-3505.08(a)).
• You pay for the change first; the tenant reimburses the cost and any usual fee within 45 days after you give documentation of the cost (D.C. Code § 42-3505.08(b)).
• Once you have the court order, do not give the offender keys or access unless the court allows it (D.C. Code § 42-3505.08(c)).

The District's housing regulations limit a security deposit to one month's rent, counting all deposits together, and allow it to be collected only once. The D.C. Code says deposits are collected under the Security Deposit Act and those regulations. The regulations are published only as Word files and were not reread for this page (14 DCMR 308; D.C. Code § 42-3502.17(a)).

• A landlord may not demand a deposit from a tenant who has lived in the unit since July 17, 1985 without ever having paid one, except for newly built units and some exempt units (D.C. Code § 42-3502.17(a)).
• A separate pet deposit was added to the Code in 2025 but is marked not funded, so it has not taken effect (D.C. Code § 42-3502.17(d); D.C. Law 25-308).
• When a prospective tenant applies, you must disclose the amount of any initial security deposit, the interest rate on it and how it is returned (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1)(H)).See Required disclosures on the Washington, D.C. page

Under the housing regulations, keep the deposit in an interest bearing escrow account, in trust, in a financial institution in the District that is insured by a federal or state agency, and pay the tenant interest at not less than the statement savings rate in effect each January 1 and July 1. The regulations are published only as Word files and were not reread for this page (14 DCMR 308; 14 DCMR 311).

• At application, disclose the interest rate on the deposit and how it will be returned (D.C. Code § 42-3502.22(b)(1)(H)).
• Complaints about a deposit that was not returned, or interest that was not paid, can be heard by the Office of Administrative Hearings (D.C. Code § 42-3502.17(b)).

No move-in checklist rule appears in the D.C. Code sections read for this page. The housing regulation on inspecting the unit for the deposit is published only as a Word file and was not read (14 DCMR 310).

• Photographs or other documentation are required to support any amount you later claim from the tenant, so a dated move-in record helps (D.C. Code § 42-3502.17(e)(2)(B)).See Returning the deposit on the Washington, D.C. page

You may charge a prospective tenant an application fee of no more than $50, which may be adjusted each year from January 1, 2024 by the change in the Consumer Price Index. No other fee may be charged before the lease is signed (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)).

• Before asking for any information or fee, tell the applicant in writing, or by an accessible posting, each fee and deposit and whether it is refundable, what information you will check, the criteria for automatic denial and other denial, the credit agency used and the applicant's right to a free copy of the report if denied, the approximate number of units you expect to have for rent over a period by bedroom size and rent (or how many became available each month in your prior fiscal year), how many days you will take to decide, and the applicant's rights to dispute, to a refund of an unused fee and to complain (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(a)).
• If the same applicant applies for another of your District units within 30 calendar days, charge only one fee unless more than one screening is required (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b-1)).
• If you do not screen the applicant for any reason, refund the application fee within 14 days (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(c)).
• Do not require a holding deposit from an applicant using a government-funded housing voucher (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(5)).
• Do not ask about or deny for an eviction case that did not end in a judgment for the landlord or was filed 3 or more years ago, and do not deny solely on a credit score (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(d), (e)).
• Never ask about or consider an arrest that did not end in a conviction. Do not ask about a pending criminal accusation or conviction until you make a conditional offer, and never about a household member under 18. Before taking an application fee, give the applicant your written eligibility criteria and a statement that they may show inaccuracies in their record, rehabilitation or other mitigating factors (D.C. Code § 42-3541.02(a), (b), (c), (g)).
• After a conditional offer, you may consider only a pending accusation or a conviction within the past 7 years for one of the listed crimes, and withdraw the offer only if, weighing the listed factors, it serves a substantial, legitimate, nondiscriminatory interest. Give the reasons in writing with notice of the right to complain to the Office of Human Rights, and on a request within 20 days give a free copy of what you relied on within 10 days (D.C. Code § 42-3541.02(d), (e), (f)).
• These criminal record rules do not apply to an owner who lives in a building with 3 or fewer rental units, or where federal or District law requires or allows considering criminal history (D.C. Code § 42-3541.03).
• If you deny an applicant, give written notice by your stated response date with the specific grounds, a free copy or summary of third party information used, and the applicant's dispute and complaint rights; answer any dispute in writing within 10 days (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(f), (g)).
• If you let a tenant find a replacement, assign or sublet, a replacement fee may not exceed the application fee limit (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b)(4)).
• Do not charge any fee, at any time, for services you must provide to keep the unit habitable and up to the housing code (D.C. Code § 42-3505.10(b-2); D.C. Law 26-156).
• The screening restriction also covers certain alleged lease breaches, even without an eviction case. Do not ask about, require disclosure of, or base an adverse action on an allegation tied to a qualifying violence-related defense, the applicant being a crime victim in the unit, the applicant's or a household member's disability, or conduct three or more years old. Apply the statutory conditions to the allegation rather than treating every landlord reference as usable (D.C. Code 42-3505.10(d)(2)).
• An adverse action includes approving an application on different, less favorable terms than those advertised or communicated in writing, as well as denying it. The written-notice requirements therefore apply to that kind of conditional approval too. Receiving prohibited information incidentally in a report does not itself violate the screening section if you did not request it and can demonstrate that you did not rely on it for adverse action (D.C. Code 42-3505.10(e)(2), (f), (j)).
• Keep District denial and dispute notices alongside any required federal consumer-report notice. If a consumer report contributes to a rejection or less favorable terms, identify the reporting company by name, address and phone number; explain that it did not make the decision and cannot explain your reasons; and state the applicant’s rights to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information and request a free report from that company within sixty days of the notice. A federal notice does not replace the District’s written reasons, response deadlines or limits on records you may use. Save the criteria, decision reasons, notices and delivery records together (FTC: landlord consumer-report guidance; D.C. application screening and notices).