The D.C. Rental Housing Act of 1985 is the District of Columbia’s main landlord-tenant law. It caps how much rent can go up each year on most units, requires a specific legal reason for every eviction, limits security deposits and late fees, protects tenants from retaliation, and requires every rental unit in the city to be registered with the Rental Accommodations Division. The RENTAL Act of 2025 amended several of its provisions effective December 31, 2025, and those changes are flagged below.
Which Units Are Covered
Every rental unit in D.C. must be registered with the Rental Accommodations Division (RAD), and until RAD approves an exemption, a unit is treated as rent-stabilized by default.1Rent Registry. Rent Registry – Welcome Housing Providers Registration requires a Basic Business License, and non-exempt housing providers pay $30 per unit each year.2D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3504.01 – Rental Unit Fee
Rent stabilization reaches most units, but there are three main exemption categories:3D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.05 – Registration and Coverage
- Buildings whose building permit was issued after December 31, 1975, or newly created units with a certificate of occupancy issued after January 1, 1980. If the construction replaced a demolished rent-controlled building, the exemption only applies when the new building has more units than the one it replaced.
- Small buildings with four or fewer rental units, owned by no more than four natural persons, where none of those owners has an interest in any other D.C. rental unit. The owners must file a claim of exemption signed under oath.
- Units receiving certain forms of government subsidy, which follow their own rules.
Exempt units still have to be registered. The exemption only lifts the rent cap; it does not remove the unit from the Act.
How Much Rent Can Go Up
For rent-stabilized units, the Rental Housing Commission sets an annual “adjustment of general applicability” tied to the year-over-year change in the Washington, D.C. CPI-W. That adjustment is hard-capped at 10%.4D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.06 – Rent Ceilings Abolished Housing providers can charge the CPI-W figure plus an additional 2%, but the total still cannot exceed 10%.5Rental Housing Commission. Rent Adjustments
Elderly tenants and tenants with a disability get a tighter cap. Their increase cannot exceed the least of three figures: the CPI-W adjustment, the most recent Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or 5% of the current rent charged.6D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.24 – Elderly Tenants and Tenants With Disabilities If the CPI-W runs at 4% in a given year but the Social Security COLA is only 2.5%, a qualifying tenant’s increase is limited to 2.5%.
No increase takes effect until the first regular rent-due date that falls more than 60 calendar days after the tenant receives written notice.7D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3509.04 – Service On top of that, a landlord cannot raise rent at all unless the unit is registered, the building substantially complies with housing codes, the landlord is properly licensed, and the required written notice about elderly and disability protections has been given to the tenant.8D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.08 – Increases Above Base Rent Skip any of those and there is no legal basis to collect the higher amount.
A housing provider who believes the standard cap does not cover costs can petition for more through capital improvement, change-in-services, substantial rehabilitation, hardship, or voluntary agreement petitions (the last requires sign-off from at least 70% of tenants in the building).5Rental Housing Commission. Rent Adjustments A hardship petition requires showing the landlord is not earning at least a 12% rate of return.9D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.12 – Hardship Petition
Just-Cause Eviction
D.C. does not allow at-will evictions. A lease expiring is not a ground to remove a paying tenant. Every eviction requires one of the specific statutory grounds and the correct written notice:10D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.01 – Evictions
- Nonpayment of rent, with at least 10 days’ written notice stating the exact amount owed and including a payment ledger. The landlord cannot file at all unless the tenant owes at least $600.
- Violation of a lease term, with 30 days after notice for the tenant to cure.
- Illegal activity on the premises, after a court finding.
- Personal use by a natural-person owner with a freehold interest.
- Sale under a written contract for the buyer’s immediate personal occupancy.
- Alterations that cannot safely be done with the unit occupied.
- Demolition, substantial rehabilitation, or permanent discontinuance of residential use.
The nonpayment rules changed under the RENTAL Act of 2025. The notice period dropped from 30 days to 10, and the $600 threshold is new. The same law created an expedited track for evictions involving dangerous or violent crimes: a 10-day notice to vacate, with a court hearing required within 20 days of the complaint being filed.11D.C. Law Library. D.C. Law 26-80 – Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Amendment Act of 2025
Security Deposits and Late Fees
A security deposit cannot exceed one month’s rent, and it can only be charged once per tenancy. The money has to sit in an interest-bearing escrow account held in trust at a federally or state-insured D.C. financial institution.12D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.17 – Security Deposit
After a tenancy ends, the landlord has 45 days to either return the deposit with accrued interest or send a written, itemized statement of what was withheld and why. Miss that deadline and the law presumes the tenant is entitled to the full refund plus interest. If the refusal to return the deposit is frivolous or dishonest rather than merely negligent, the tenant can recover up to three times the amount withheld.12D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3502.17 – Security Deposit
Late fees are allowed only if the lease specifically authorizes them. The fee cannot exceed 5% of the monthly rent, and the landlord has to wait at least five days after the due date before charging it. Rent due on the first means no late fee until the sixth.13Office of the Tenant Advocate. Late Fee FAQs Nonpayment of a late fee by itself cannot support an eviction.10D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.01 – Evictions
Retaliation Protections
Landlords cannot retaliate against tenants who exercise their legal rights. If a landlord takes adverse action within six months of a tenant filing a complaint, requesting repairs, withholding rent for code violations, joining a tenant organization, or bringing legal action, the law presumes retaliation.14D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3505.02 – Retaliatory Action To overcome the presumption, the landlord must produce clear and convincing evidence that the action had nothing to do with the tenant’s protected activity. That is a higher burden than the preponderance standard used in most civil cases, so vague justifications and convenient timing will not carry it.
Withholding Rent for Unsafe Conditions
Tenants can withhold all or part of their rent when a landlord fails to keep the unit safe and habitable or does not make necessary repairs in a reasonable time. Before withholding, send the landlord written notice describing the specific conditions, with photos if possible. Put the withheld rent in a savings account, because a judge will decide whether the withholding was justified; if the court disagrees, the tenant has to pay the amount owed to avoid eviction.
Tenant Opportunity to Purchase
When a landlord decides to sell a rental property, the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) gives tenants the right to make an offer before the property goes to an outside buyer. The owner must provide written notice of sale, and a tenant organization can request an appraisal within 45 days of receiving a bona fide offer.15D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 42-3404.02 – Tenant Opportunity to Purchase
The RENTAL Act of 2025 added new TOPA exemptions. Buildings completed within the prior 15 years (measured from the permanent certificate of occupancy) are no longer subject to the offer-of-sale requirement. Properties owned by the D.C. Housing Authority and certain congregate or assisted-living facilities are also exempt. For two-to-four-unit buildings, the property is exempt only if no business or corporation holds a majority ownership interest.16DC Department of Housing and Community Development. The RENTAL Act of 2025 Frequently Asked Questions
Even an exempt owner must submit a Notice of Transfer to the Mayor and to all tenants. Skipping that notice creates a legal presumption that the transfer was actually a sale subject to TOPA, and the burden of proving an exemption applies falls on the owner.16DC Department of Housing and Community Development. The RENTAL Act of 2025 Frequently Asked Questions Owners of exempt properties were required to notify existing tenants of the exemption by March 31, 2026. The RENTAL Act also made it unlawful to coerce tenants into waiving TOPA rights, to retaliate against tenants exercising those rights, or to make fraudulent statements designed to prevent tenants from participating.11D.C. Law Library. D.C. Law 26-80 – Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Amendment Act of 2025
Filing a Petition
Tenants and housing providers both have access to a formal petition process through RAD. A tenant files a Tenant Petition to challenge an improper rent increase, seek a rent reduction for reduced services, or raise other grievances under the Act. A housing provider files a Housing Provider Petition for above-guideline increases, including hardship and capital improvement petitions. Petitions can be submitted by mail to DHCD or through the department’s online portal.17Department of Housing and Community Development. Form 23 – Tenant Petition Complaint Once RAD processes a petition, the case is referred to the Office of Administrative Hearings, an independent agency that schedules a formal hearing, takes evidence, and issues a decision.