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B26-0368 • 2025

Tenant and Rowhouse Short-Term Rental Clarification Amendment Act of 2025

Tenant and Rowhouse Short-Term Rental Clarification Amendment Act of 2025

Housing
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Nadeau
Last action
2025-10-07
Official status
Under Council Review
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on the removal of an old rule or additional rules for tenants with landlord permission beyond notification requirements.

Tenant and Rowhouse Short-Term Rental Clarification Act

This act amends existing laws to allow tenants with primary residency to operate short-term rentals, clarify rules for rowhouses in certain zones, and require booking services to display license numbers.

What This Bill Does

  • Allows tenants who live primarily at their rental unit to run a licensed short-term rental.
  • Clarifies that owners of two-unit buildings in Residential Flat zones can rent out one unit as a short-term rental.
  • Requires short-term rental booking websites to show the license number for each property listed.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Tenants in Washington, D.C. who want to operate short-term rentals.
  • Owners of two-unit buildings in certain zones.
  • Booking services that list short-term rentals.

Terms To Know

Primary residence
A place where someone lives most of the time and considers their main home.
Residential Flat zone
An area in Washington, D.C. with specific rules for buildings like rowhouses.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The act does not specify when it will take effect.
  • It only applies to the District of Columbia and its laws.

Bill History

  1. 2025-10-07 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Referred to Committee on Public Works and Operations with comments from the Committee of the Whole

  2. 2025-10-03 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    Notice of Intent to Act on B26-0368 Published in the District of Columbia Register

  3. 2025-09-25 Council of the District of Columbia LIMS

    B26-0368 Introduced by Councilmember Nadeau at Office of the Secretary

Official Summary Text

Tenant and Rowhouse Short-Term Rental Clarification Amendment Act of 2025

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
1
_____________________________
Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau

A BILL

_________________________

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

_________________________

To amend the Short-Term Rental Regulation Act of 2018 to allow tenants demonstrating primary 1
residency in a rental unit to operate a licensed short-term rental, to clarify that owners of 2
a two-unit property in a Residential Flat zone may operate one of the two principal 3
dwellings as a short-term rental, and to require that short-term rental booking services 4
display a property’s license endorsement number as provided by the host. 5
6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 7
act may be cited as the “Tenant and Rowhouse Short-Term Rental Clarification Amendment Act 8
of 2025”. 9
Sec. 2. Sec. 2. The Short-term Rental Regulation Act of 2018, effective April 25, 2019 10
(D.C. Law 22-307; D.C. Official Code § 30-201.01 et seq.), is amended as follows: 11
(a) Section 101(4) is amended to read as follows: 12
“(4) “Primary residence” means the property is: 13
“(A) Eligible for the homestead deduction pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 47-14
2201(g); or, 15
“(B) A residential unit leased to a natural person; provided, that at least two of the 16
following documents, that are not from the same business, company, or agency, are provided: 17
“(i) An unexpired Washington, D.C. driver’s license reflecting the 18

2
applicant’s name and current address, which shall be the same as provided in the application for 19
short-term rental license endorsement; 20
“(ii) Water, gas, electric, oil, internet, or cable bill with the applicant’s 21
name and address, issued within the last 60 days, which shall be the same as provided in the 22
application for short-term rental license endorsement; 23
“(iii) Telephone bill reflecting applicant’s name and current address, 24
issued within the last 60 days, which shall be the same as provided in the application for short-25
term rental license endorsement; 26
“(iv) Official mail from any government agency reflecting the applicant’s 27
name and current address, issued within the last 60 days, which shall be the same as provided in 28
the application for short-term rental license endorsement; or, 29
“(v) Certificate of insurance reflecting the applicant’s name and current 30
address, issued within the last 60 days, which shall be the same as provided in the application for 31
short-term rental license endorsement.”. 32
(b) Section 102 is amended as follows: 33
(1) Subsection (e) is amended by adding a new paragraph (1) to read as follows: 34
“(1) The owner of a property with two principal dwelling units in a Residential 35
Flat (RF) zone, as defined by 11 DCMR §E100 et seq, may offer one of the units as a short-term 36
rental.”. 37
(2) A new subsection (g) is added to read as follows: 38
“(g) A host who demonstrates primary residency and obtains permission from their 39
landlord to operate a short-term rental pursuant to Section 101(4)(b) and 103(5), shall notify the 40
Department within 30 days of termination of the host’s lease, upon which the host’s short-term 41

3
rental license shall no longer be active.”. 42
(c) Section 103 is amended by adding a new paragraph (5) to read as follows: 43
“(5) If the short-term rental is eligible under Section 101(4)(b), the host shall provide 44
written confirmation from the landlord or the landlord’s designee that permits the host to obtain 45
and operate a short-term rental license on the property.”. 46
(d) Section 106 is amended by striking subsection (b). 47
(e) Section 108(a)(1) is amended to read as follows: 48
“(1) A booking service shall require a host to provide a Short Term Rental or Short Term 49
Rental: Vacation Rental license endorsement number for each listed short-term rental property 50
and shall display a property’s license endorsement number in a conspicuous location on the 51
listing page; provided, that the booking service shall not be held liable for a host providing a 52
false license endorsement number.”. 53
Sec. 3. Fiscal impact statement. 54
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 55
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 56
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 57
Sec. 4. Effective date. 58
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 59
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 60
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 61
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 62
Columbia Register. 63