District of Columbia property management software.
AI-native property management for every US state. Here is the District of Columbia compliance profile included with Forge -- every value cited to its statute.
Included -- every value cited to its statute.
Each value below is drawn directly from the cited statute and maintained to the best of our ability; it has not been reviewed by an attorney. Fields we could not source are left out rather than guessed. You remain responsible for complying with the current statutes -- verify before you rely on any value here.
District of Columbia landlord-tenant rules Forge tracks
- Security-deposit return
- Within 45 days of move-out (up to 45 if the lease specifies)
- Maximum security deposit
- 1 month(s) of rent
- Deposit interest
- Interest owed to tenant (see statute for rate)
- Late-fee cap
- Up to 5% of past-due rent
- Late-fee grace period
- 5 days after the due date
- Rent-increase notice (month-to-month)
- 60 days
- Termination notice (month-to-month)
- 90 days
- Notice before landlord entry
- 48 hours
- Pay-or-quit / cure period
- 30 days
- Manager / broker license
- Generally required to manage for others
Extra protected classes: beyond the federal Fair Housing Act, District of Columbia also protects age, marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, matriculation, political affiliation, source of income, sealed eviction record, victim of intrafamily offense status, place of residence or business, homeless status. Forge's fair-housing checks account for this.
Required lease disclosures
- Rent-control/exemption status, business license, and registration/exemption certificate at application, updated within 30 days of any change (42-3502.22) -- willful noncompliance forfeits the ability to raise rent
- Tenant Bill of Rights (OTA-published), given at time of application (42-3502.22(b)(1)(L))
- DC-specific lead-paint disclosure for buildings built before 1986 (broader than the federal pre-1978 rule) (8-231.04)
Sources
- D.C. Code 42-3502.17(a) / 14 DCMR 309 (45-day deposit return)
- 14 DCMR 308.2 (deposit capped at 1 month rent); 14 DCMR 311 (conditional interest, tenancy >=12 months)
- D.C. Code 42-3505.31 (late fee: 5-day grace, capped at 5% of full rent due)
- D.C. Code 42-3509.04 (60-day rent-increase notice, uniform regardless of rent-control status, eff. 1/1/2024); 42-3502.08(h)(2)(A) (rent-control increase cap, building-dependent, re-set annually)
- D.C. Code 42-3505.01(a)-(k) (just-cause termination grounds and notice periods)
- D.C. Code 42-3505.51 (48-hour entry notice)
- D.C. Code 42-3505.01(a-1)(1)-(2) (RENTAL Act of 2025, D.C. Law 26-80, eff. 12/31/2025 -- internal 10-vs-30-day conflict, see notes)
- D.C. Code 47-2853.142 et seq. / 47-2853.181 (broker/property-manager license; owner exemption)
- D.C. Code 2-1401.02 / 2-1402.21 (DC Human Rights Act -- 20-trait protected-class list)
Last reviewed: 2026-07-09
Software assistance, not legal advice.
Forge helps you track deadlines and generate documents, but it is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Any statutory values shown are assistive guidance we maintain to the best of our ability; you remain responsible for complying with the current District of Columbia statutes whether or not our values are correct. Always verify the current statutes and consult a licensed District of Columbia attorney before acting on a specific situation.
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