Under DC's Short-Term Rental Regulation Act of 2018, a unit listed on Airbnb, VRBO, or similar platforms must be the host's primary residence — investor-owned ghost listings are flatly prohibited.
DC Code 36-301.01 et seq. limits short-term rentals to a host's primary residence, defined as the dwelling where the host lives at least 183 days per year. Hosts must register with DCRA (now DLCP), obtain a Short-Term Rental license, and provide proof of residency such as a DC driver's license, voter registration, or tax filings. Second homes, pied-a-terres, and investor-owned units cannot be licensed as STRs. The rule was enacted to protect long-term housing stock from being absorbed into the transient rental market in a tight DC housing economy.
Operating a non-primary-residence STR is unlicensed activity subject to civil fines, license denial, and revocation of any existing rental endorsement.
Washington, DC
DC caps unhosted short-term rentals at 90 nights per calendar year. Hosted stays where the owner remains on-site have no night limit. The cap is enforced thr...
Washington, DC
DC requires a license to operate any short-term rental under the Short-Term Rental Regulation Act of 2018 (D.C. Law 22-307, DC Code 30-201.01 et seq.). Two l...
See how Washington's primary-residence-only rule rules stack up against other locations.
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