Washington, DC Accessory Structures: ADU Rental Restrictions (2026)

13 closes the accessory apartment chapter with a rental-specific gate that applies regardless of which zone the property sits in or whether the unit is inside the principal dwelling or a detached accessory building. Before the owner can rent the accessory apartment to a tenant, the property owner must first obtain a Residential Rental Business License from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the District's licensing agency for rental housing. The license is not simply a paperwork filing: the rule also requires the property to be inspected for relevant housing code compliance before the rental can proceed, meaning a code inspector confirms the unit meets applicable housing standards before tenants can move in.

7; an owner who has cleared the zoning conditions for building the accessory apartment still cannot lawfully rent it out until the license and inspection are complete. Because the license comes from the same office that issues residential rental licenses for ordinary rental units elsewhere in the District, an accessory apartment owner effectively becomes a landlord subject to the District's broader rental licensing framework the moment the unit is rented rather than owner-used.