§ 42–3502.22. Disclosure to tenants.

(a) At the written request of a tenant not more than one time each calendar year, a housing provider shall, within 10 business days on a form provided by the Rent Administrator (or in another suitable format until a form is published), provide the amount of each increase in the amount of rent charged for the tenant’s rental unit during the preceding 3 years on which the current rent charged is based, including the basis for each increase and, if applicable, the identification of any substantially identical rental unit on which a vacancy increase was based.

(b)(1) At the time a prospective tenant files an application to lease any rental unit, the housing provider shall provide on a disclosure form published by the Rent Administrator (or in another suitable format until a form is published) together with any documents corresponding to each item of information:

(A) The applicable rent for the rental unit;

(B) Any tenant petition or petition filed by the housing provider which is pending that could affect the rental unit, including petitions for further rent increases during the following 12 months;

(C) Any surcharges on rent for the rental unit, including capital improvement surcharges and the expiration date of those surcharges;

(D) The frequency with which rent increases for the rental unit may be implemented;

(E) The rent-controlled or exempt status of the housing accommodation, its business license, and a copy of the registration or claim of exemption together with the most recent notice filed pursuant to § 42-3502.05(g)(1)(C);

(F) All copies of housing code and property maintenance code violation reports issued by the Department of Buildings for the housing accommodation or rental unit within the last 12 months, or previously issued reports for violations which have but not been abated;

(G) A pamphlet published by the Rent Administrator that explains in detail using lay terminology the laws and regulations governing the implementation of rent increases and petitions permitted to be filed by housing providers and by tenants;

(H)(i) The amount of any nonrefundable application fee; and

(ii) The amount of any initial security deposit, the interest rate on the security deposit, and the means by which the security deposit is returned to the tenant when the tenant vacates the unit;

(I) Whether the housing accommodation is registered as, or in the process of converting to, a condominium or cooperative or a use that is not a housing accommodation;

(J) The disclosure of ownership information in the registration form required by § 42-3502.05(f) and (g)(1)(C);

(K) Information known or that should have been known about the presence of indoor mold contamination as defined in § 8-241.01(5) in the rental unit or common areas in the previous 3 years, unless the mold has been remediated by an indoor mold remediation professional certified and licensed by the District; and

(L) A Tenant Bill of Rights published by the Office of the Tenant Advocate pursuant to § 42-3531.07(8).

(M) Not Funded.

(N) Not Funded.

(1A) The requirement in paragraph (1)(L) of this subsection shall apply to an application for a residential rental unit submitted 90 days after a Tenant Bill of Rights is noticed in the District of Columbia Register.

(1B) The disclosure form published by the Rent Administrator, as required by paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall include the voter registration packet developed by the District of Columbia Board of Elections pursuant to § 1-1001.05(a)(20).

(1C) Not Funded.

(2) The housing provider shall:

(A) Maintain in a publicly accessible area of the housing accommodation (such as a reception desk or management office) a compilation of disclosure forms and documents for each rental unit in the housing accommodation containing the information required by paragraph (1) of this section;

(B) Update the compilation within 30 days of any change in such information;

(C) Give written notice to each tenant of the housing accommodation, on a form published by the Rent Administrator (or in another suitable format until a form is published), that the disclosure forms and documents for the tenant’s rental unit are available for inspection, which shall include the location of the disclosure forms in the housing accommodation and a table of contents enumerating the categories of information contained in the compilation required by paragraph (1) of this section;

(D) Make available for the tenant’s inspection the disclosure forms and the documents for the tenant’s rental unit; and

(E) Within 10 business days after written request by any tenant once per year, provide to the tenant without charge a copy of the disclosure form and such documents for the tenant’s rental unit.

(1) Willfully violates the provisions of this section; or

(2) Fails to comply within 10 business days of written notice of any failure to comply with the provisions of this section.

(July 17, 1985, D.C. Law 6-10, § 222; as added Aug. 5, 2006, D.C. Law 16-145, § 2(g), 53 DCR 4889; Sept. 9, 2014, D.C. Law 20-135, § 301, 61 DCR 6767; Dec. 17, 2014, D.C. Law 20-147, § 3, 61 DCR 8310; June 24, 2020, D.C. Law 23-112, § 5(a), 67 DCR 5066; Apr. 5, 2021, D.C. Law 23-269, § 501(y)(5), 68 DCR 001490; Feb. 23, 2023, D.C. Law 24-238, § 8, 69 DCR 14738.)

Effect of Amendments

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-135 added “and property maintenance code” in (b)(1)(F); made a minor stylistic change in (b)(1)(J); and added (b)(1)(K).

The 2014 amendment by D.C. Law 20-147 added the subsection designated herein as (b)(1)(L) and made related changes; and added (b)(1A).

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 24-238: § 9 of D.C. Law 24-238 provided that the change made to this section by § 8 of D.C. Law 24-238 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.