Steps for making your basement apartment legal in DC
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Anonymous
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It's a cumbersome process (in terms of steps), but I did it. And it gives me great peace of mind that I have a legal accessory apartment. These are the steps for apartments within the structure of a single family house (in my case a semi-detached house). People usually call these au pair suites.
1. Start your application for a special exception from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). You go to this site https://app.dcoz.dc.gov/Content/Registration/Registration.aspx to register with IZIS (Interactive Zoning Information System) and then start an application (Form 120:Application for Variance/Special Exception). In the application, you will say the present use of the property is Single Family House. And under Proposed use of property you'll say "Single family dwelling with accessory apartment for rental purposes". You have a section to explain what you want to do (I said I bought a house with an accessory apartment, and I wanted to utilize this apartment for rental purposes. 2. In addition to your application you have to submit a ton of documents. Here are the things you need to submit/do. You need to work on these things after you submit your application. Usually the BZA gives you a hearing date a few months later, so during that time you should be building and finalizing your application documents. A. Form 126: BZA Adjustment Fee Calculator (this is just to show how much you'll pay for this application). The one you're requesting is a variance, which was $325 when I filed. B. Plat of your property (need to go to DCRA and request and pay for -- need your square and lot number, which is on your title, or they can look up) C. Statement of existing and intended use (just a letter explaining what you want to do) D. Form 135: Zoning Self Certification. Under the box § 3104 Special Exception, write 202.10 (that's the exception you want) E. Photos: Submit photos of front of house, photo of where the accessory apartment is relative to the front of the house (use a magic market to point out where it is), pics of the entrance to the accessory apartment, and driveway if that's relevant. You'll including photos for the BZA to see that your apartment will not affect the front face of the house (you won't all of sudden have another "house" popping up on the same street, and that your apartment won't impact street parking. I included photos of my 2 car driveway so they knew I would not be creating more cars in the street with my apartment, since I intended to provide one driveway spot to my renter. That is one of the big deals for BZA and for neighbors. No one wants to lose a parking spot on the street. F. A submission of architectural renderings of the apartment. I DID NOT GET THESE. I used a more rudimentary set of sketches that were part of the one-sheet when I bought the house. Architectural renderings are EXPENSIVE. I wrote to the BZA in this application document and said I did not have renderings from an architect but I hope these rough sketches would suffice. They did. G. List of the names of all neighbors within 200 feet of the house. You need to get this from the BZA. You give them your square and lot, and they give you a map of your house and circle all the houses that are within 200 sq feet of your house, as well as the names of the home owners. BZA will be mailing a letter to ALL YOUR NEIGHBORS to tell them you are planning to get an exception for a rental apartment. Good to chat with neighbors in advance so you know they're ok with it (they can't really stop you but it is always easier if you don't have any people grumbling) H. You need to contact your ANC representative and make sure they have a public hearing on your apartment. They will know what to do. YOu inform them by email and then they schedule your public hearing so any neighbors who have a problem can speak. No one did in my case. I. You need to complete a BURDEN OF PROOF form. The burden of proof requires you meet at least 6 of the following 8 provisions (and you must meet provision #8). You will write a letter going through every provision and explaining if you meet the provision and providing details. 1. The lot shall have a minimum of 5000 sq ft (I got an exception for this one) 2. The house shall have at least 2000 square feet of gross floor area exclusive of garage space 3. The accessory apartment may not occupy more than 25% of the gross floor area of the house 4. The new apartment may be created only through internal conversion of the house, without any additional lot occupancy or gross floor area. Garage space may not be converted. 5. If there is an additional entrance for the accessory apartment, it shall NOT be located on a wall facing the street 6. Either the principal dwelling or the accessory apartment must be owner occupied 7. The aggregate number of persons that may occupy the house, including the principal dwelling and the accessory apartment combined, is six. 8. An accessory apartment may not be added where a home occupation is already located on the premises (no one can be living in the apartment at the time of the application). After all that you are assigned a hearing by BZA. You need to put up a poster and display it on your yard at least 7 days notifying everyone of this public hearing. Ask someone at BZA or DCRA because I can't remember how I figured that our or how I figured out what the sign should look like. It is very specific what it needs to say. Finally, then you have your hearing. Usually they ask a few questions, and if all is in order (and you don't have tons of people objecting to the apartment), the exception is granted. Final step: Now you can get the apartment inspected by someone from DCRA. You are inspecting to ensure it meets a few requirements (so make sure you do). Based on that passing, you will be told you passed and then just need to get a business license to operate your rental. Section 3203.1(a) of DCMR 11 (District of Columbia zoning regulations) exempts one family dwellings (aka single family dwelling) from the COO requirements. So you will only get a business license. You can find the guidelines for DC apartments here. Important parts are egress windows (height, width important) from bedroom, ceiling height, emergency exits, etc. http://districtre.com/tools-2-use/dc-rental-basement-guidelines/ Hope this helps! |
Anonymous
| Wow—this should be pinned somewhere; it’s not spelled out this clearly in any DC government resource. Thanks OP! |
Anonymous
It is actually very hard to know what to do. People told me I needed a CoO, then others said no. People said I needed blueprints. Etc. Finally I found someone at DCRA who just walked me through every single step in the process. If you go to the IZIS site, you can see other people's applications. That is helpful as well. But yes, it is not very clear and you can give up easily if you don't know. |
Anonymous
| Wait, I don’t need to get a certificate of occupancy if the rental unit is in my home? |
Anonymous
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This must be a new(er) process that came into existence in last few years? What a complex process...you're kind to have written it up so clearly for folks. No wonder not enough people step up and do the right thing making their units legal.
When I officially converted my first floor "in law" suite into a rental unit in 2015 DCRA made me classify it as a "two unit dwelling" and i just needed the BBL, rent control exemption, DCRA inspection and then got my C.O.. Your post will certainly remind me to renew that C.O. on a biannual basis and not let it lapse! |
Anonymous
OP here. If it is in your house and your house is zoned single family dwellings you CANNOT get a CofO. You have an accessory apartment in a single family dwelling. Check the website and check the codes I cited. That is what is applicable in a single family dwelling. The CofO is for multi family dwellings which mine was not. Yes it is confusing. And I don’t think have the people in DCRA know what to tell you. I worked with a woman Kathleen Beeton who was deputy zoning administrator. She and one other fellow walked me through step by step. There is a fellow with the last name Nero too who knows all the steps. The important thing to say is you have an ACCESSORY apartment. You have the right to rent out your accessory apartment if you meet the conditions I mentioned. |
Anonymous
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Sorry. OP again. I had mine legalized in 2015. In 2016 they passed a new set of requirements for the Burden of Proof. See below. Differs just a bit (the size of the principal dwelling differs depending on the zone, the percent of the house the apartment occupies differs depending on the zone, etc.)
https://dcregs.dc.gov/Common/DCMR/RuleDetail.aspx?RuleId=R0019774 |
Anonymous
OP, this is not entirely accurate information. We were zoned as a single family unit but went through DCRA to get our zone changed (into multi-family unit) and a C of O for our basement apartment. So, you can get a C of O, but you need to change the load of your house. We did this a few years ago by going through the HomeOwner's office in DCRA. We did have to get architectural drawings and a building inspection. I'm not sure the architectural drawings were completely necessary (it was never clear if they needed them and it depended on who you talked to at DCRA on any given day), but our architect helped us spot an issue with a regress window that we were able to address pretty easily before submitting our permits. OP, I'm still not sure what "accessory apartment" without a C of O means in DC. Are you able to legally rent it out? |
Anonymous
OP again. Yes, I'm able to rent it out. And I do! What I was told is that my house (a semi-detached house with a walk-out basement apartment) could not be zoned multi family. So the CofO route was out (and frankly, it would have been much more expensive to do it that way). What DRCA says is the following: "An accessory dwelling unit is a unit that is secondary to the principal single household dwelling unit in terms of gross floor area, intensity of use, and physical character, but which has kitchen and bath facilities separate from the principal dwelling and may have a separate entrance." DRCA notes: Prior to renting an accessory apartment in any zone, the property owner shall obtain a Residential Rental Business License from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the property shall be inspected for relevant housing code compliance. Despite all the steps I mentioned, it is actually not that difficult once you know the steps. |
Anonymous
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This thread is misleading because I think there are generally three kinds of ways you can establish a separate unit on your property in DC. The option(s) available to you depend on your zoning situation. OP's situation just reflects the first.
1. Through zoning exception - this is what OP has done. This applies when your zoning does not allow for a multiunit property. 2. Through accessory dwelling unit regulations - http://handbook.dcoz.dc.gov/use-categories/other-uses/accessory-dwelling-units/ you can do this by right and do not need a Certificate of Occupancy (or so I've heard). There is a limited application to these regulations however (see link for map). This is the newest route to creating a separate unit (2016). 3. Through obtaining a Certificate of Occupancy. This is where you live in a zone that allows for multifamily dwellings but have not yet established your home as multifamily. I happen to live in the third type of neighborhood (RF-1 zone) and am spending a pretty penny to get a legal basement unit. |
Anonymous
| Thanks for all this research & info OP. Although now it's completely understandable why so many owners say "to heck with all that" and just rent it out on the side... |
Anonymous
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OP: In the end how long did it take you from day 1 applying until the last day that you had the permit in your hands?
Also what is the grand total you spent on all of this. And did they have to visually come to your prop to do an inspection? And the most important question, did your tax liability jump because of this? I imagine it would but in your case by how much? |
Anonymous
I am in RF-1 zone as well. How do you get a C of O for 2 units? Did you pay architect to do the 2-unit conversion? |
Anonymous
I live in a row house in Logan Circle, it was a single family home, so to make a legal rental unit in the basement I needed to convert to a "two family flat". I also needed work done, and once each inspection passed I was able to get a C of O. But I also needed a property inspection prior to the business license being issued. |
Anonymous
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Hi All,
I'm writing on this forum because I realize that the OP made a few mistakes on the assumptions of how to implement an Additional Dwelling Unit in Washington DC. I am an architect and I design and document ADUs (aka: basement apartments, granny flats, etc). Below you will find my comments to the OP and how the documentation to DCRA should be. If you need help on this topic don't hesitate to reach out to ile@ileanaschinder.com - -You don't need special exceptions for ADUs anywhere in the city since the zoning law changed in 2016 and ALL NEIGHBORHOODS (except georgetown) have the right to add ADUs in their properties. Skip this step. -The only documents you need to provide are the following: a complete building set (architecture, plumbing, electrical, etc) done by a licensed professional (insurance and liability are a thing in the city, lawyers everywhere, right?  . The professional will know what goes on the package, it's standard practice for us.
-You don't need to give notice to your neighbors unless you live in a historic district (which is a complicated set of rules, see professional experience above). You only need to contact your neighbors on each side if you are doing structural work on party walls. (I've done this, it's very easy) -You don't need to contact your ANC if you want to implement an ADU -You don't need burden of proof at all. Not sure if this was the old law pre-2016 but in the dozen or so ADUs I've permitted, never once I got asked this. -You must comply with all zoning and building rules. There are hundreads (the building code alone is 1700 pages, and i read them all because architecture license is the best cure for insomnia
-If you want to do an ADU, you are NOT assigned (or required) to do a BZA hearing, you have this by right since 2016. Finally, reach out to professionals that do this day in and day out (I do!) and organizations that are working to promote ADUs (The coalition for smarter growth) I hope this clarifies and feel free to reach out if you need any help on this. Cheers, Ileana Schinder, Architect ile@ileanaschinder.com www.ileanaschinder.com |