The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) started this site to create a easy-to-find, easy-to-use resource for property owners to talk with us directly about how to be safe and legal when renting one of the thousands of basement apartments in the District. While some have suggested we create a flier or a some sort of booklet (we’ll do that too), the number of various scenarios based on location, age of your home, history of the unit, among many others makes outreach extremely difficult. We’ll always be missing some exception or variable with a single flier. So we’re launching this site to create a central location not only for information and tips from DCRA but also to allow residents to share their stories with DCRA and other property owners.
The reason a license is required for basement apartments in the first place is to ensure that the property is inspected and meet codes – especially fire safety codes. Rental licenses are not a major money maker for the city, but are extremely important for the safety of your tenants. And we are aggressively going after illegal rentals. Over the past few months, we have discovered illegal rentals with major gas leaks that could have cause a major explosion in the tenant’s unit AND the landlords home. We also discovered two units filled with Carbon Monoxide from leaky water heaters.
So while avoiding DCRA investigators might be an incentive for some of you to save a few hundred bucks for the license and inspection, you could be putting your tenant and yourself in danger. These are real issues. People want to know they’re safe in their rental and they can look you up right now and report you.
And even if you plan to continue to rent illegally – the C of O, license and inspection is just $280 total and good for two years which is not much when you’ll make 25K for rental – we strongly suggest you get an independent inspection.
And people with safe units are getting their licenses in 30-45 days. For people with unsafe units, why would you want to put people in there anyway? While I’m sure you need extra cash, at least be safe and protect your tenants and yourself.
We hope you find this useful and please comment – good, bad or curious. We depend on you to help ask the questions no one is asking.
Some of the language was previously posted on the Prince of Petworth blog.
i’m wondering, what are the tax consequences to a landlord that spends “just $280″ for a license and inspection? i’ve heard that registered landlords have to pay the city a tax of 10% of their rental income – ON TOP OF the tax they ALREADY PAY on the same income, which is included in their gross income when they calculate taxes. Is it true that registering a rental unit subjects landlords to DOUBLE TAXATION? If that is the case, does the city imagine that such taxes won’t be passed on to tenants?
mtumba,
Thanks for your comment. We don’t handle tax issues but you can call the Office of Tax and Revenue http://otr.dc.gov and they can definitely answer your question. Thanks again.
Could you let us know when you will updating the site? It is such a good site but I see that there are a number of really good questions that still remain unanswered (some of which are mine :>), such as what are the exceptions for ceiling height, can a waiver process be instituted if you are quite close to 7ft (particularly for older buildings), what happens to the Landlord if they come in now after renting for a number of years without a license (will they be liable to the tenant for backrent), what are the requirements for how many means of egress there must be, etc…Thanks for any help you can provide (and sorry to be impatient)
No need to apologize at all. We’ll try to answer all comments as quickly as possible and we’ll try to post once every week or two. In regard to the height issue, the code right now is 7 feet. The building code in 1930 was actually 8 feet so at least to then. Again, we are certain the height issue will be an ongoing conversation, but right now the height requirement is 7 feet. According to the code, the only real exception is when there is a support beam that comes down lower and that must be no lower than 6 ‘ 8″ and there needs be essentially 4 feet on either side of that beam. The Code Inspector will make a determination during the inspection based on other variables in the unit or you can have a private home inspector check this out for you before getting the licensing inspection. We’ll get a post up soon and hopefully that will prompt a good discussion going forward. Right now we aren’t authorized to grant waivers. The rent issue is something we don’t handle. There are many legal, contractual and insurance implications of renting unlicensed. We are going to try to get some outside experts to weigh in on these issues in the near future. You can contact the Rent Administrator at the Department of Housing and Community Development. They are very responsive. http://dhcd.dc.gov. Or email me at michael.rupert (at) dc.gov and I’ll can forward your concerns directly.
Thanks. Have you guys thought about putting together a community task force that could make recommendations, weigh in on proposed regulations, and try to help come up with practical solutions that are acceptable to DCRA? I know other DC agencies have had similar task forces (Parks and Rec). I believe most DC homeowners want to be compliant but need some flexibility from DCRA to achieve that. thanks
RD,
The building codes are developed by the Construction Codes Coordinating Board – http://dcra.dc.gov/dcra/cwp/view,a,1343,q,644108.asp – which involves experts, citizens, government employees, etc. It is a very big effort and there are specific subcommittees addressing all the codes. Definitely get in contact with them to discuss your suggestions or apply to become part of the process.
Is there any information on the differences between renting my basement versus renting a room in my house? If my tenant has access to my house, then is he no longer “renting” my basement and therefore, I don’t need to be fully compliant with a number of these issues – deadbolts, egress, etc?
If you’re renting just a room, you essentially have a roommate and you’re sharing the living quarters so you would not need a BBL. You can have essentially up to four unrelated people living with you without having to get a license as long as your living there and sharing the kitchen, bathrooms, living space. A basement apartment is a separate unit – dwelling unit – and you do not share the rest of the house. If the room is in the basement, it should still meet basic housing codes or it could be dangerous.
What rights does a basement tenant when the landlord decides to sell the house? I am particularly interested in rights under the DC Code and Regulations, independent of the lease.
@Thinking ahead,
DCRA doesn’t handle lease and tenant/landlord legal issues, but here is a great list of the codes and regulations. http://www.ota.dc.gov/ota/cwp/view,a,3,q,573310,otaNav,%7C33327%7C.asp
Under regulations, see Title 14 which covers a lot of these issues and more. Thanks for the comment.
correction to previous message:
What rights does a basement tenant have when the landlord decides to sell the house? I am particularly interested in rights under the DC Code and Regulations, independent of the lease.
Just stumbled across this site. First time poster…
Questino: I’m about to buy a house w/ a basement apartment that I plan to rent out. It comes with a CofO and a BBL. What do I need to do transfer those into my name? And what else do I need to do in order to legally rent out the unit?
Kate K,
You need to come in to get the C of O transferred to your name and you’ll need to get your own business license. They’ll do an inspection and you’ll be good to go. Since you already have a C of O, this should be very easy. Here is the link to the Two Family License: http://dcra.dc.gov/DC/DCRA/For+Business/Apply+for+a+Business+License/Residential+Housing+Rental+License+Information/Get+a+Two+Family+Rental+License
Thanks for getting back to me. As a follow-on question, I’ve seen adds for ‘expediters’ for real estate license filings etc. Are these Services legit?
Thank you.
Some are, some aren’t. Not sure you need one. http://www.pearsonvue.com/dc/realestate/
I was renting a basement apartment which had a cieling height of 6″-1″, and had fixed bars on the windows. The last straw was when the landlord kept blocking the only exit with debris from his building projects and was coming into the basement unanounced to get to the electrical and water heater (or so he said). I later realized that this situation was a fire hazard. When I told him about it he got real upset and ended up not returning my deposit. Is there anything this office can advise me to do?
JB,
He has to provide you with reasons within a reasonable amount of time. We did a post on this on our other blog http://thisshouldbeillegal.com a little bit ago. It should cover pretty much everything you need to know. If not, let us know. http://thisshouldbeillegal.com/2010/08/12/summer-is-nearly-over-what-you-need-to-know-about-getting-security-deposit-back/
Thanks. Very helpfull. Keep up the good work!
Hello. Thanks for the great website. I’m looking to purchase a rowhouse that has been converted into 2 units. One upstairs, one downstairs – though NOT a basement apartment.
It has a ‘use code’ of “24 – Residential-Conversions-Less t” which reflects that it has been converted to a multiunit. Does this need a C of O? What do I need to check before completing the purchase?
Thank you so much for your assistance.
Hello. I’m in the exact same position Daniel is in where I’m about to buy a rowhome converted into 2 units. Both units are currently registered with DC government and has a C&O. I know I need to get this information converted into my name once purchased, but I am curious what I need to do for the unit I plan to live in. Do I need to change the C of O because I’m living in one of the units? Also, do you have a reference for the landlord/tenant legal issues as one of the units already has a tenant in a month-to-month lease and we do not know our rights for signing a new lease with them or having them move if we decide we don’t want to rent?
Thank you for any help!
This is a very useful website.
Is there a similar site with information for renting out an entire single family home? Does the information here apply?
Thanks,
MS,
Thanks for the email. The entire single family is much easier to rent as it does require a Certificate of Occupancy or any renovations. You can find that information here
Hope this helps.
I am renting a couple of rooms and bathroom from a family who do not have a renter’s license. We share a kitchen or should I say I can use the kitchen on a limited basis. I have been told that only landlords that have three or more units need a license. Is that true? I also want to move out before my lease is up because the family I live with is driving me crazy. If they are required to have a license but don’t, can I break my lease because they never filed for a license? Friends have even said because they have obtained income illegally that I can sue them for all the rent I have already paid to them (Individuals cannot make a profit on money gained illegally). Is that true or does it depend on the judge who hears the case. Thanks for all you do to keep us renters safe!
We just received our Certificate of Occupancy yesterday. Congrats to the DCRA for making the process to get the Certificate itself rather painless. However, our tenant has attempted to change his address to our address “Apt B” but gets error messages. How do I obtain an official address that is separate from the the house address, or what agency do I contact to do so. The Post Office referred me to the municipal government.
Thank you.
We’re buying a house with an existing c of o for the basement. I understand the process for applying for a BBL, etc, once we’re the owners, but I’m not sure whether it’s legal to rent the apartment while we’re going through that process. Do we need to wait for final approval before starting a lease?
Thanks for your help!