Washington D.C.

Washington, D.C. Tenant Survival Guide 

• 3.0 Repairs 
• District of Columbia laws require your landlord to provide 

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• condition. The landlord has a duty to make all repairs 
• necessary to make buildings and apartments habitable. 

• D.C. law also requires landlords to maintain buildings and 
• apartments according to many established standards, 
• including the Housing Code Standards listed below. The 
• Housing Regulation and Enforcement Division of the 
• Housing Regulation Administration, a part of the 
• Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs 
• (DCRA) is responsible for administering the D.C. 
• Housing Code and related regulations. 

• For more 
• information on the D.C. Housing Code, refer to Title
• www.JigsawHealth.com14 of the D.C. Municipal Regulations. You can request 
• a copy of the D.C. Housing Code by contacting the 
• Housing Inspection Section of the Housing Regulation 

• Administration at DCRA at (202) 442-4400.  
• You should frequently check your building and 
• apartment to determine if repairs are needed and 
• whether your landlord is complying with the Housing 
• Code based on the standards below. If repairs are 
• needed, you should notify the landlord using the 
• method described in the lease. As often as possible, 
• make your repair requests in writing. (See the 
• subsection below entitled “Steps for Getting Repairs 
• Made” for details on this process.) 

• As with any matter 
• discussed with your landlord, you should keep a 
• record of all telephone calls and copies of all 
• correspondences (letters, forms, etc.). 
• You will usually be more successful in getting repairs 
• made if you have a tenant organization negotiating 
• with the landlord. (See the sections entitled Forming 
• a Tenant Organization and Incorporating a Tenant 
• Organization.) Being a member of a strong tenant 
• organization will make it much easier for you to get 
• repairs made.  
• A. “Inside the Apartment” 
• Housing Code Standards   

• ••• Bathrooms: A bathroom must be private and 
• ventilated, it must have a bathtub or 
• shower, toilet, sink with hot (at least 120 
• degrees) and cold running water, and it 
• www.JigsawHealth.commust have a waterproof floor and wall base. 
• ••• Cleanliness: Apartments must be free of 
• insects, rats, and mice. Apartments must 
• also be free of dirt, dust, cobwebs, garbage, 
• and litter at the time of move-in. Tenants 
• are responsible for keeping their 
• apartments clean after they move in. 
• ••• Insects: Insects such as roaches, ants, water 
• bugs, etc. are prohibited. 

• ••• Doors: Doors must not be blocked, must 
• open and close easily (particularly 
• emergency exits and fire doors), and must 
• fit reasonably well within their frame. Knobs 
• and locks must be in good working 
• condition. 
• ••• Electricity: Each apartment or house must 
• have two separate electrical outlets per 
• habitable room (one of which must be a 
• wall or floor convenience outlet), wires with 
• good insulation, and correct fuses. 

• Permanent extension cords are prohibited. 
• Each room must have lights. 
• ••• Fire Safety: Lighted fire exit signs, fire 
• extinguishers, a fire alarm system, and 
• smoke detectors in good working order are 
• required. Fire doors must be unlocked and fire 
• escapes (where applicable) must be in working 
• order. (The D.C. Fire Safety Act also provides 
• requirements related to fire safety and smoke 
• www.JigsawHealth.comdetectors.) 

• ••• Floors: Floors must be clean, sound, waterproof, 
• and level. Cracks, holes, splinters, and rat or 
• mouse holes are prohibited. 
• ••• Hallways: Halls must be clean, well lit, and 
• without blockage or obstruction. 
• ••• Heat: If a tenant cannot control heat settings 
• within the unit, the landlord must insure heating 
• equipment maintains the temperature at least 
• 68 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 65 
• degrees Fahrenheit at night in all occupied 
• rooms and bathrooms. 

• ••• Hot Water: Water temperature must reach 120 
• degrees Fahrenheit in the kitchen and bathroom. 
• ••• ••• Kitchens: All facilities provided by the landlord 
• for cooking, storage, or refrigeration of food 
• must be maintained in a safe and good working 
• condition. The kitchen sink must have hot and 
• cold running water. 

• ••• Lighting: All rooms, including laundry, furnace, 
• and storage areas, must have natural and/or 
• artificial lighting. Lighting must be provided in all
• hallways and over stairs. 
• ••• Paint: Paint must not be peeling or flaking and 
• must not contain exposed lead paint. 
• ••• Plumbing: Leaky plumbing is prohibited. Each 
• apartment must have hot and cold running 
• water in the kitchen and bathroom. 
• ••• Privacy: 

• Each apartment must have a door to an 
• outside hallway or the street. Bathrooms must 
• permit privacy; tenants must be able to get to 
• the bathroom and bedrooms without going 
• through another bathroom or bedroom. 
• ••• Security: Tenants must be able to lock the 
• apartment from both the outside and inside. 
• Building entrances must have locks. 
• ••• Space: At least 70 square feet is required for each 
• room used for sleeping by one tenant over 1 
• www.JigsawHealth.comyear old. 

• For rooms used by 2 or more tenants 
• for sleeping, there must be at least 50 square 
• feet for each tenant.  Under the D.C. Human 
• Rights Act (not the Housing Code), it may be 
• considered unlawful discrimination if a landlord 
• tries to evict a family with children in order to 
• limit the number of tenants living in the 
• apartment.  For purposes of the Human Rights 
• Act, in general up to 2 persons are allowed in an 
• efficiency, 3 persons in a one bedroom, 5 
• persons in a two bedroom, and 7 persons in a 
• three bedroom.  

• ••• Stairs: Stairs must be firm and secure with good 
• railings and good lighting. Obstructions are 
• prohibited. 
• ••• Walls And Ceilings: Holes, wide cracks, or 
• peeling paint, plaster, or wallpaper is prohibited. 
• ••• Windows: Windows must have screens from 
• March 15 to November 15. Windows must open 
• and close easily, must contain glass without 
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• water leaks. 
• B. “Outside the Apartment” 
• Housing Code Standards -  
• ••• Cleanliness: All walks must be free of dirt, 
• garbage, litter, rats, mice, and insects. The 
• grass must be cut. 

• ••• Foundation: The foundation must have sound 
• joints between the bricks and stones. Holes 
• and cracks are prohibited. 
• ••• Porches: Porches must have safe and secure 
• floors and railings. 
• ••• Roof: The roof must have gutters, drains, and 
• down spouts that do not leak. Roof leaks 
• are prohibited. 
• ••• Stairs And Steps:  Stairs and steps must be 
• evenly spaced with railings. Tripping 
• hazards or obstructions are prohibited. 
• ••• Trash: Waterproof plastic or metal covered 
• trash cans must be provided. Grounds and 
• Jigsaw Magnesium w/ SRTwalks must be free of junk, trash, and litter. 
• ••• Walkways: 

• Walkways must be free of 
• obstructions and trash. Holes in the 
• sidewalk are not permitted. 
• ••• Walls: Walls must be waterproof and clean. 
• Holes, cracks, and mouse or rat holes are 
• not permitted. 
• ••• Water: Flooding in yards, walks, basements 
• as well as damp walls and floors are not 
• permitted. 
• ••• Wood Surfaces: 

• Wooden walls, doors, and 
• windows must be painted. Peeling paint is 
• not permitted. och.georgetown.edu