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A RESOLUTION
26-357
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
March 3, 2026
To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Rental Housing
Act of 1985 to require owners of rental accommodations that are exempt from rent
stabilization to report current and prior rent amounts for the previous 2 calendar years and
the utilities, facilities and services, and appliances at the time of registration.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
resolution may be cited as the “Rental Housing Registration Data Integrity Emergency
Declaration Resolution of 2026”.
Sec. 2. (a) On June 2, 2025, the District’s RentRegistry housing database became
operational pursuant to section 203c of the Rental Housing Act of 1985, effective October 22,
2015 (D.C. Law 21-36; D.C. Official Code § 42-3502.03c) (“section 203c”), establishing a
centralized system for housing providers to register rental accommodations and submit required
housing data.
(b) The Council previously adopted temporary legislation to clarify reporting
requirements applicable to housing providers registering rental accommodations in the
RentRegistry system; however, that temporary legislation will expire on April 5, 2026.
(c) Upon expiration of the temporary legislation, there will be uncertainty regarding the
District’s authority to require housing providers of exempt rental accommodations to report
current rent amounts, prior rent amounts, and other required housing information at the time of
registration, creating a risk of incomplete registrations and gaps in critical housing data.
(d) Section 203c requires housing providers to register rental accommodations and
provide specific housing data to ensure transparency, accountability, and effective administration
of the District’s housing laws.
(e) As part of the RentRegistry system design and implementation, housing providers are
required to submit, at the time of registration, the current monthly rent and rent amounts charged
for the prior 2 calendar years, as well as information regarding utilities, facilities, services, and
appliances associated with each rental accommodation, regardless of whether the
accommodation is subject to rent stabilization.
(f) This information is essential to providing a complete, accurate, and reliable depiction
of the District’s rental housing market, including both rent-stabilized and exempt rental
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accommodations, and supports policymaking, enforcement, tenant protection, and housing
market transparency.
(g) The requirement to report current and prior rent amounts, utilities, facilities, services,
and appliances for all rental accommodations is integral to the functionality of the RentRegistry
system and has been incorporated into the database’s structure and programming. The
Department of Housing and Community Development stated that removing or modifying these
requirements would require significant additional coding work, delay full implementation,
increase development costs, and undermine the integrity and usefulness of the database.
(h) Housing providers of exempt rental accommodations have expressed confusion and
resistance regarding the requirement to submit rent history and related housing information;
however, clarifying and preserving this requirement on an emergency basis is necessary to
ensure consistent compliance, prevent gaps in housing data, and maintain the functionality and
reliability of the RentRegistry system.
(i) The RentRegistry system was designed to address longstanding limitations in the
availability and reliability of rental housing data in the District. Because historical rent and
housing characteristic data were not previously available in a centralized, reliable, or cost-
effective format, requiring housing providers to submit this information at the time of
registration is necessary to establish a complete and accurate baseline dataset.
(j) Without emergency legislation preserving these reporting requirements, housing
providers may withhold critical information necessary for the proper operation of the
RentRegistry system, impairing the District’s ability to administer housing laws, monitor rental
housing conditions and pricing, ensure transparency, and inform policymaking.
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Rental
Housing Registration Data Integrity Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 be adopted after a
single reading.
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately.