Your landlord is required by DC law to keep housing units (such as apartments) and the common areas of buildings in safe and habitable condition.
What To Report
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Anything broken in your unit: for example, appliances, utilities (like heat, hot water or gas), windows and doors, and smoke alarms must all be in proper working order.
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Safety concerns in your building: for example, broken windows and doors.
How To Report
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Collect evidence.
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First report your problem to your landlord or property manager to fix it.
- File a complaint with DOB if the issue isn’t fixed within 10 days, or 24 hours if it is an emergency issue such as lack of heat or utilities.
Request Housing Inspection
Be Sure To Include These Details:
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Your landlord/property manager’s contact information.
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Your contact information so we can send you status updates and can arrange an inspection of your unit
What to Expect: An inspection will be scheduled within 15 business days, and we will issue a Notice of Infraction (NOI) to the landlord if violations are found. 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.
Illegal Construction, Vacant and Blighted Properties
Any construction without required building permits is illegal. This is a public danger that can hurt people and property. Contact us if you see a violation and we will schedule an inspection. Learn more here.
How To Report Illegal Construction
- Write down the address and type of issue
- Take photos, if you can.
- Call 311 or file online below:
Request Housing Inspection
Vacant or Blighted Property Problems?
A vacant building or house is empty and has not been lived in or used continuously. A blighted building threatens the health, safety, or general welfare of the community. DOB schedules inspections based on complaints from residents in an effort to bring properties back into productive use.
Filing a complaint: Write down the address and call 311 or file a complaint online below:
Request Housing Inspection
Helpful Resources
- 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.
- 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
- Organizations That Assist Tenants
- Resource Guides
