New DC Rental Laws in 2026: A Landlord's Guide to the RENTAL Act

Washington DC's biggest rental-law overhaul in years, the RENTAL Act, took effect December 31, 2025. On top of that, the District set its 2026 rent-control caps at 4.1% for most rent-controlled units and 2.1% for registered elderly or disabled tenants, effective May 1, 2026. If you own or rent out property in DC, several rules you have relied on for years have changed. This guide walks through what is different, what stayed the same, and what you should do now to stay on the right side of the law.

This is general information, not legal advice. Always confirm specifics for your property with the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA), the Rental Housing Commission (RHC), or a DC landlord-tenant attorney before you act.

Old rule vs. new rule at a glance

What is the RENTAL Act?

The RENTAL Act stands for Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Amendment Act of 2025. It is now D.C. Law 26-80.

Mayor Muriel Bowser signed it on November 13, 2025. It was sent to Congress for the standard review period, Congress took no action, and it became effective December 31, 2025.

The law does two big things. First, it changes how eviction and rent cases move through DC's Landlord and Tenant Court. Second, it significantly rewrites the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), the rule that gives tenants a right to buy a building when it is sold.

The goal, per the Mayor's office, was to keep DC's housing providers financially stable while protecting tenants, after years of providers reporting distress from unpaid rent and rising costs.

2026 rent control caps: 4.1% and 2.1%

If your unit is under DC rent control (often called rent stabilization), there is a cap on how much you can raise the rent each year.

For Rent Control Year 2026, which runs May 1, 2026 through April 30, 2027, the Rental Housing Commission published these caps:

• 4.1% for most rent-controlled units. This is the regional CPI-W plus 2%.
• 2.1% for units occupied by a registered elderly or disabled tenant. The tenant must have registered their status with the Rent Administrator to qualify for the lower cap.

Two things landlords get wrong here. First, these caps apply to rent-controlled units, not every unit in DC. Many newer buildings and small owner-occupied properties are exempt. Second, the lower 2.1% cap only applies if the tenant is properly registered as elderly or disabled. If you are unsure whether your unit is rent-controlled, confirm its status with the RHC before issuing any increase.

Faster late-rent notice: 30 days down to 10

Before you can file to evict a tenant for not paying rent, DC law requires you to serve a Notice of Past Due Rent first.

That notice period dropped from 30 days to 10 days under the RENTAL Act. This brings DC closer to its neighbors, Maryland uses a 10-day notice and Virginia uses a 5-day notice.

The RENTAL Act also clarified how you may deliver that notice. It can now go out by certified mail or a delivery service with tracking and return receipt, or by hand delivery or posting on the front door of the unit. That removes the old need for a private process server on these notices.

One caution: DC landlord attorneys have flagged that a second reference to the old 30-day period was left in the statute by mistake and may need a technical fix. Until that is cleaned up, confirm the correct notice period with counsel before you rely on the 10-day timeline.

Rent gets paid into the court during an eviction case

This is one of the most practical wins for landlords in the RENTAL Act.

In the past, when a tenant contested an eviction, the rent often went unpaid for months while everyone waited for a hearing. Landlords could ask the court for a "protective order" requiring the tenant to pay rent into the court's registry, but a dispute could trigger a lengthy evidentiary hearing first.

Now, when a landlord requests a protective order, the court can enter a preliminary protective order for the monthly rent shown in the lease and ledger without an evidentiary hearing first. The tenant has to keep making those payments during the case. If the tenant claims there are housing code violations, the court will still schedule a hearing to decide whether the amount should be adjusted, but the tenant pays in the meantime.

The practical effect: the unpaid balance stops growing uncontrolled while a case works through the system.

Note on mediation: DC's Landlord and Tenant Court has long used mediation to help parties settle before trial, and that opportunity still exists. Reports of a brand-new "mandatory mediation step" added by the RENTAL Act could not be confirmed against the law itself, so treat that as unverified and confirm current court procedure with OTA or counsel.

Illegal-activity evictions and court discretion on paperwork

Two more court-process changes matter for landlords.

Faster action on dangerous crimes. If the alleged illegal activity in a unit is a "dangerous crime" or a "crime of violence" as defined in DC law, the notice to vacate drops from 30 days to 10 days, and the court must hold an expedited hearing within 20 days. Before serving that shorter notice, the landlord must first consider reasonable options to protect non-offending occupants, such as barring the offender or transferring the lease. For all other illegal-activity cases, the old 30-day process stands.

Fewer cases tossed on a technicality. Previously, if a pre-suit notice had a defect, the court was required to dismiss the case, sending the landlord back to the start after months of waiting. The RENTAL Act now lets the court use discretion to weigh whether the defect actually prejudiced anyone before dismissing. This does not mean paperwork matters less, it means an honest mistake may no longer automatically restart the clock.

What you must disclose to applicants

DC has detailed disclosure rules, and they are easy to overlook. Under D.C. Code § 42-3502.22, when a prospective tenant files an application to lease a unit, you must provide a disclosure package that includes:

• The applicable rent for the unit
• Any pending petition that could affect the rent
• Any surcharges and when they expire
• The rent-controlled or exempt status of the property, plus the business license and registration or exemption claim
• Housing code and property maintenance violation reports from the last 12 months
• A plain-language pamphlet on rent increases and petitions
• The amount of any nonrefundable application fee and any security deposit, plus the deposit interest rate and how it is returned
• Whether the building is a condo or co-op, or converting to one
• Ownership information
• Known indoor mold history from the last 3 years
• The Tenant Bill of Rights published by the Office of the Tenant Advocate, plus a voter registration packet

A quick myth-check: some online guides say the disclosure must be delivered "within 72 hours." The DC code actually ties it to the time of application, not a 72-hour window, and it also requires you to keep an updated compilation of these disclosures available for inspection. Secondary sources report penalties up to $5,000 for failing to provide the Tenant Bill of Rights, but the code's own remedy in this section is that you cannot raise the rent if you willfully fail to comply or fail to fix the problem within 10 business days of notice. Because the exact penalty depends on which provision applies, confirm the current figure with OTA before you rely on any single number.

Security deposits in DC

The security deposit rule in DC is straightforward and did not loosen under the new law:

• The deposit cannot exceed one month's rent.
• You must return it, with an itemized statement of any deductions, within 45 days of the tenant moving out.
• Failing to follow the return rules can expose you to penalties of up to three times the deposit.

This is one of the most common areas where DC landlords slip up, especially on the 45-day clock and the itemized-statement requirement. If your move-out process is not tight, this is a good place to get help.

TOPA changes every DC owner should know

TOPA gives tenants a right to buy their building when it is offered for sale. The RENTAL Act rewrote big parts of it. Highlights:

• 15-year exemption for new buildings. Sales or transfers of a newly built multifamily building within 15 years of its certificate of occupancy are no longer a "sale" for TOPA purposes, so tenants do not get purchase rights. To qualify, the lease must state the building is exempt, and owners had to notify existing tenants of the exemption by March 31, 2026.
• Small-building exemption. Buildings with four or fewer units owned by individuals (not business entities) are exempt from TOPA's offer-of-sale requirement, with certain tenant notice rights preserved. Two-to-four-unit buildings owned by business entities remain covered.
• Notice of Transfer now required almost everywhere. Even exempt and excluded transfers, including foreclosures, now require a Notice of Transfer to tenants. It does not give purchase rights, but it starts a 45-day window for tenants to organize.

TOPA is complex and the District is still writing regulations to interpret the new law, a process that could take years. If you are buying, selling, or transferring a DC building, get specific advice first. Our TOPA landlord survival guide breaks the process down in plain English.

What DC landlords should do now

• Confirm whether each unit is rent-controlled before issuing any 2026 increase, and use the right cap (4.1% or 2.1%).
• Update your late-rent notice to the 10-day format and confirm the correct notice period with counsel given the statute's pending technical fix.
• Refresh your application packet so every required disclosure, including the Tenant Bill of Rights and voter registration packet, is delivered at the time of application.
• Tighten your move-out process so deposits are returned with an itemized statement within 45 days.
• Flag any planned sale or transfer of a DC building for a TOPA review before you sign anything.
• Document everything. With the court now using discretion on notice defects, clean, dated records help your case.

Staying compliant across all of this is exactly what a local manager handles day to day. See how our Washington DC property management team keeps owners protected, or compare the rules across state lines in our DC vs. Maryland vs. Virginia landlord laws guide.

Frequently asked questions

How much can a DC landlord raise rent in 2026?

For rent-controlled units, the cap for Rent Control Year 2026 (May 1, 2026 to April 30, 2027) is 4.1% for most units and 2.1% for units with a registered elderly or disabled tenant. Units that are exempt from rent control are not subject to these caps, so confirm your unit's status with the Rental Housing Commission first.

What is the RENTAL Act?

The RENTAL Act (Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords Amendment Act of 2025), now D.C. Law 26-80, is a DC housing law that took effect December 31, 2025. It speeds up parts of the eviction process, requires tenants to pay rent into the court during a contested case, gives judges discretion over notice defects, and significantly changes TOPA.

When did the new DC rental laws take effect?

The RENTAL Act took effect December 31, 2025. The 2026 rent-control caps take effect May 1, 2026 and run through April 30, 2027.

What is the maximum security deposit in DC?

DC caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent. You must return it with an itemized statement of any deductions within 45 days of move-out, or you risk penalties.

Did the RENTAL Act shorten the eviction notice period?

Yes. The Notice of Past Due Rent for nonpayment dropped from 30 days to 10 days. For illegal activity involving a dangerous crime or crime of violence, the notice to vacate also dropped to 10 days with an expedited hearing.

Does TOPA still apply to my building?

It depends. Newly built buildings get a 15-year exemption, and buildings with four or fewer units owned by an individual are exempt from the offer-of-sale requirement. Most other buildings still fall under TOPA, and a Notice of Transfer is now required for nearly all transfers. Get a TOPA review before any sale.

Sources & last reviewed

Sources: D.C. Law 26-80, RENTAL Amendment Act of 2025 (DC Law Library); RENTAL Act homepage (Government of the District of Columbia); RHC Publishes New Rent Increase Caps: 2.1% Elderly/Disability; 4.1% Other (DC Office of the Tenant Advocate, Feb 2, 2026); Rent Adjustments (DC Rental Housing Commission); § 42-3502.22 Disclosure to tenants (DC Law Library); § 42-3505.01 Evictions (DC Law Library); Tenant Bill of Rights (DC Office of the Tenant Advocate); Ballard Spahr, "New TOPA Law (Effective December 31, 2025) and Other Multifamily Legal Developments" (Jan 9, 2026); Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs, "Important Amendments to Rental Housing Act of the District of Columbia" (Jan 12, 2026). Last reviewed July 17, 2026 by the Flat Fee Landlord Washington DC team.