DOB's goal is to ensure all District tenants have safe and habitable living conditions. Your landlord is required to provide an apartment, building or single family dwelling in a safe, habitable and livable condition, thus your landlord has a duty to make all repairs necessary to meet that standard.
Here's what to do if you have something broken in your home:
- Collect evidence.
- Report the problem to your landlord or property manager to fix it.
- If the issue isn't fixed within 10 days, or 24 hours if it's an emergency issue like a lack of heat or utilities, file a complaint with DOB by clicking the below button or call 202-671-3500.
Request Housing Inspection
An inspection will be scheduled within 15 business days, and we will issue a Notice of Infraction (NOI) to the landlord if violations are discovered. At that point, landlords have 60 days to fix non-emergency violations and 24 hours for emergencies. If violations aren't fixed, please let DOB know. You may also contact the Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) for assistance and more tenant resources and information at ota.dc.gov.
Verify Your Landlord Is Licensed
If you are renting, the owner/landlord is required to be properly licensed by the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection. Prior to signing your lease or moving in, ask the landlord for their Basic Business License number and verify the license information. The verification site will only show those licenses that are active. If you don’t have the exact license number you can also search by your rental address (i.e. Business Address) or the License Category. Rentals will generally fall under the License Categories of either Apartment, One Family, or Two Family. Check the Basic Business License Category Information for other housing categories that may be applicable. If you can’t find the license information, call (202) 671-4500 for assistance.
DC Housing Code Standards
District of Columbia laws require landlords to provide dwellings that are in a safe, habitable and livable condition. The landlord has a duty to make all repairs necessary to make dwellings habitable. DC law also requires landlords to maintain dwellings in compliance with many established standards, including Housing Code standards.
View the DC Housing Code Standards
Update for Rental Housing Providers
The Department of Buildings (DOB) electronically issues notifications for housing code violations. Therefore, we are requesting all housing providers who operate apartment, one- and two- family rental properties in the District of Columbia to update their contact information, including a valid email address.
Update your Contact Information
