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[quote=Anonymous]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!

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