Washington DC does not require owner-occupancy as a general condition for accessory apartments under Zoning Subtitle U § 253. The principal dwelling and accessory apartment may both be rented, subject to standard DC rental licensing through the Department of Buildings (DOB) Rental Accommodations Division and the Office of Tax and Revenue Clean Hands certification. This places DC among the more permissive jurisdictions nationally, similar to California after AB 881 (2019).
When DC modernized its zoning code in 2016, it deliberately omitted an owner-occupancy condition for accessory apartments under Subtitle U § 253. The District's housing policy goals — increasing the supply of small rental units, particularly in close-in neighborhoods served by Metrorail — favored allowing absentee owners to develop and rent accessory units. There is no deed-restriction requirement and no covenant filed with the DC Recorder of Deeds. Both the principal dwelling and the accessory apartment may be rented to non-owners simultaneously. The owner must, however: (1) obtain a Basic Business License (BBL) for residential rental housing through DOB; (2) hold a Clean Hands certificate from the Office of Tax and Revenue showing no unpaid DC taxes; (3) register the rental property and pass a DCRA/DOB rental housing inspection; and (4) comply with the Rental Housing Act of 1985, including possible rent-control coverage for units in buildings constructed before 1976 with five or more units. The Rental Housing Commission notes that small two-unit owner-occupied configurations may qualify for an exemption from rent control under the Rental Housing Act.
Renting without a Basic Business License: BBL violation and fines. Renting without Clean Hands certificate: license denial. Failure to register and pass rental inspection: housing code violations and possible escrow of rents.
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See how Washington's adu owner occupancy rules stack up against other locations.
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