Free Washington, D.C. Rent Increase Notice

▶ Watch overview

Washington, D.C. has real rent control: a rent-stabilized unit can rise only by the annual adjustment of general applicability (CPI-W + 2%, hard-capped at 10%; less for elderly and disabled tenants), while exempt units – new construction, subsidized, or small landlords – have no cap. Either way the District requires at least 60 days’ written notice (D.C. Code 42-3509.04), no more than one increase per year, and no retaliation (42-3505.02). Generate a clean notice below.

60-day written notice D.C. Code 42-3502 / 42-3509.04 Washington, D.C. Free PDF

This Washington, D.C. Rent Increase Notice raises the rent on a residential tenancy under the Rental Housing Act of 1985 (D.C. Code 42-3501.01 et seq.). The District is a rent-control jurisdiction, so the first question is whether the unit is rent-stabilized (capped at the annual adjustment – CPI-W + 2%) or exempt (new construction, subsidized housing, or a small landlord of four or fewer units – no cap). For every unit, the increase needs at least 60 days’ written notice under D.C. Code 42-3509.04, may occur only once in 12 months, requires housing-code compliance, and may not be retaliatory under 42-3505.02. Our how to raise rent guide covers the timing, and the tenant screening laws by state hub helps you place reliable tenants in the first place.

Complete the fields below to generate a Washington, D.C. rent increase notice. The new rent and effective date must give the tenant the full statutory notice period. Service should comply with applicable District of Columbia law; retain proof of service.

A Washington, D.C. rent increase notice is the written notice a housing provider gives to raise the rent on a residential tenancy under the District of Columbia Rental Housing Act of 1985 (D.C. Code 42-3501.01 and following), which the Department of Housing and Community Development administers through its Rental Accommodations Division and the Rental Housing Commission. Unlike most of the country, the District has active rent control, so the very first step is to determine whether the unit is rent-stabilized or exempt – that single fact decides whether there is a cap on how much the rent can go up.

A rent-stabilized unit is one covered by the rent-control program – generally an older building (a building permit issued on or before December 31, 1975) of five or more units whose owner does not qualify for the small-landlord exemption. For a rent-stabilized unit, the rent may be raised only by the annual adjustment of general applicability. For most tenants that adjustment is the Washington-area Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) plus two percentage points, with a hard cap of ten percent (D.C. Code 42-3502.06 and 42-3502.08). For tenants who are elderly – age 62 or older – or who have a disability, and who are registered with the Rent Administrator, the increase is limited to the least of the CPI, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or five percent (D.C. Code 42-3502.24). These figures reset every year on May 1: for Rent Control Year 2025, which runs from May 1, 2025 through April 30, 2026, the published cap is 4.8 percent for most tenants and 2.5 percent for registered elderly and disabled tenants. Because the numbers change annually, confirm the current adjustment with DHCD before serving a controlled increase. A rent-stabilized increase may be taken only once in any twelve-month period, and only when the unit and its common areas are in substantial compliance with the DC housing code.

Many units are exempt from rent control, and an exempt unit has no statutory cap on the amount of an increase. The main exemptions under D.C. Code 42-3502.05 are new construction – a unit in a building whose building permit issued after December 31, 1975, or that first received a certificate of occupancy for housing use after January 1, 1980; federally or District-owned or subsidized housing, such as public housing or a unit whose rent or mortgage is federally subsidized; and the small-landlord exemption, which covers a housing accommodation of four or fewer rental units owned by no more than four natural persons who hold no other rental-unit interest in the District, provided a proper claim of exemption has been filed. An exemption is not automatic – it has to be established with the Rent Administrator. Even where a unit is exempt and there is no cap, every other rule still applies: the 60-day written notice, the once-per-twelve-months limit, housing-code compliance, and the retaliation and fair-housing bars.

For every unit, controlled or exempt, the District requires advance written notice. Under D.C. Code 42-3509.04 a rent increase does not take effect until the first date rent is normally due that falls more than 60 calendar days after the notice is given to the tenant. This 60-day rule is recent: the Fairness in Renting Clarification Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-65) raised the minimum from 30 days to 60 days effective November 28, 2023, so any notice issued now must give the full 60 days. The statute also sets out how to serve the notice – by handing it to the tenant, leaving it at the tenant’s place of business with a responsible person in charge, leaving it at the tenant’s usual residence, by U.S. mail, or by any other means the Rental Housing Commission orders. For a rent-controlled unit the increase must be on the DHCD/RAD form (the Housing Provider’s Notice to Tenant of Rent Adjustment, RAD Form 8), filed with the Rental Accommodations Division. Our how to raise rent guide walks through the timing, and screening applicants with verified reports keeps tenancies stable so the increases you serve actually stick.

Finally, timing and motive matter as much as the amount. D.C. Code 42-3505.02 prohibits retaliatory action against a tenant, including an unlawful rent increase, and it presumes an increase retaliatory – rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence – when it follows within six months of a protected tenant action: requesting repairs, reporting a housing-code violation to District officials, lawfully withholding rent, organizing or joining a tenant organization, enforcing a right under the lease, or suing the housing provider. Federal and District fair housing law independently bar an increase aimed at a tenant because of a protected characteristic. Put together, a clean District increase is exact but manageable: confirm whether the unit is controlled or exempt, keep a controlled increase within the current annual adjustment (and the lower elderly/disabled cap), raise the rent only once in twelve months and only when the unit is code-compliant, give at least 60 days’ written notice on the proper form, serve it by a provable method, and never let the increase track a tenant’s protected complaint. None of this replaces the screening you do at move-in – a tenant chosen for steady income and a clean payment history is the one most likely to absorb a lawful increase without a dispute.

• Rent control applies to rent-stabilized units — the increase may not exceed the annual adjustment of general applicability (CPI-W + 2%, hard-capped at 10%) under D.C. Code 42-3502.06 / 42-3502.08.
• Lower cap for registered elderly (62+) and disabled tenants — the least of CPI, the Social Security COLA, or 5% (D.C. Code 42-3502.24).
• Exempt units have no cap — new construction (building permit after 1975), federally or District-subsidized housing, and small landlords of four or fewer units (D.C. Code 42-3502.05).
• At least 60 days’ written notice before the new rent takes effect — D.C. Code 42-3509.04, raised from 30 to 60 days effective November 28, 2023.
• Only one increase per 12 months, and the unit and common areas must be in substantial compliance with the DC housing code before a rent-controlled increase.
• No retaliatory increase — D.C. Code 42-3505.02 presumes retaliation if the increase follows a protected tenant action within six months.
• No discriminatory increase — the federal Fair Housing Act and the DC Human Rights Act bar an increase aimed at a protected class.

• D.C. Code 42-3509.04(a) allows hand-delivery to the tenant, leaving the notice at the tenant’s business with a responsible person in charge, or leaving it at the tenant’s usual residence.
• U.S. mail is permitted; certified mail with a return receipt gives a dated paper trail. Allow added days for receipt when you mail, since the 60-day clock runs from receipt.
• For a rent-controlled unit, use the DHCD/RAD Housing Provider’s Notice to Tenant of Rent Adjustment (RAD Form 8) and file it with the Rental Accommodations Division.
• The notice must be in writing — a verbal increase does not satisfy the Act; keep your proof of delivery either way.

The baseline is 60 days. Under D.C. Code 42-3509.04(b) a rent increase is not effective until the first date rent is normally due that falls more than 60 calendar days after the tenant is given written notice. That minimum was raised from 30 to 60 days by the Fairness in Renting Clarification Amendment Act of 2023 (D.C. Law 25-65), effective November 28, 2023, so a 30-day notice is no longer valid for any unit, controlled or exempt.

The notice can have to be longer than 60 days in one specific situation. D.C. Code 42-3505.54(b) bars a housing provider from requiring a tenant to give more than a 30-day notice to vacate unless the lease also requires the provider to give written notice of any rent increase that is at least 30 days more than that move-out period. So if your lease makes the tenant give 60 days’ notice to move out, your rent-increase notice must be at least 90 days; a 45-day move-out clause means at least a 75-day rent-increase notice. Always give whichever is longer — the 60-day floor or the lease-driven figure — and add days for mailing since the clock runs from receipt.

For a rent-stabilized unit the annual adjustment of general applicability (CPI-W + 2%, 10% max) is the routine increase, but the Rental Housing Act lets a housing provider seek more in defined situations, almost always by petition to and approval from the Rent Administrator. An exempt unit is not bound by any of these caps.

• Vacancy increase (D.C. Code 42-3502.13). When a tenant leaves voluntarily or after a valid notice to vacate, the provider may raise the rent charged by 10% if the prior tenant occupied the unit for 10 years or less, or 20% if for more than 10 years. The accommodation must be registered, and no vacancy increase is allowed within 12 months of a hardship increase.
• Capital-improvement petition (D.C. Code 42-3502.10). The cost of an approved capital improvement can be passed through: a building-wide improvement is amortized over 96 months and capped at 20% above the current rent; a limited improvement to one or more units is amortized over 64 months and capped at 15%. The surcharge is temporary and abates once the provider recovers the cost.
• Hardship petition (D.C. Code 42-3502.12). In lieu of the annual adjustment, a provider whose return is too low may petition for an increase that yields no more than a 12% rate of return on the housing accommodation.
• Substantial rehabilitation (D.C. Code 42-3502.14). Where the Rent Administrator finds a substantial rehabilitation is in the tenants’ interest, it may approve an increase of up to 125% of the pre-rehabilitation rent, contingent on completion.
• Change in services or facilities (D.C. Code 42-3502.11). If the provider substantially increases the services or facilities supplied with the unit, the Rent Administrator may raise the rent proportionally (and must lower it for a substantial decrease).
• Voluntary agreement (D.C. Code 42-3502.15). Seventy percent or more of the tenants in an accommodation may agree with the provider on rents, services, and capital improvements; the agreement must be filed with and approved by the Rent Administrator and free of coercion.

A tenant who believes an increase is unlawful can file a tenant petition with the Rental Accommodations Division (RAD) of DHCD; the case is heard by the Office of Administrative Hearings, with an appeal to the Rental Housing Commission, and the Office of the Tenant Advocate can advise or represent tenants at no charge. Common grounds are an increase above the applicable cap, short notice (less than the 60 days or the longer lease-driven period), more than one increase in 12 months, an increase taken while the unit was out of housing-code compliance, an unregistered accommodation, or a retaliatory or discriminatory increase. Keeping your notice within the cap, on the RAD form, properly served, and well documented is the strongest defense to any of these challenges.

• Giving only 30 days’ notice — the District raised the minimum to 60 days effective November 28, 2023 (D.C. Code 42-3509.04).
• Raising a rent-controlled unit by more than the annual adjustment of general applicability, or charging a registered elderly or disabled tenant more than the lower cap.
• Assuming a unit is exempt without a filed claim — the small-landlord, new-construction, and subsidy exemptions under 42-3502.05 must actually be established.
• Raising the rent more than once in a 12-month period, or before the unit is in substantial housing-code compliance.
• Increasing the rent within six months of a protected tenant action — D.C. Code 42-3505.02 presumes that retaliatory.
• Giving only 60 days when the lease requires more than 30 days’ notice to vacate — under D.C. Code 42-3505.54(b) the rent-increase notice must then run at least 30 days longer than the tenant’s move-out notice period.
• Taking a vacancy, capital-improvement, hardship, or rehabilitation increase without registering the accommodation or obtaining the required Rent Administrator approval (D.C. Code 42-3502.05, 42-3502.10–.14).

• Confirm the unit’s status first — rent-controlled or exempt — because it decides whether a cap applies at all.
• For a controlled unit, verify the current adjustment of general applicability with DHCD (it resets each May 1) and use the RAD notice form.
• Give written notice at least 60 days before the next rent-payment date, and longer if the lease requires it.
• State the current rent, the new rent, and the effective date plainly, deliver by a method you can prove, and document housing-code compliance.

Published by Tenant Screening Background Check

Established 2004 · 20+ Years · All U.S. States & Territories · Statute-Based · Attorney-Reviewed

A Private Eye Reports™ service trusted by landlords, property managers, and attorneys.