The market is dense, urban, and event-driven: row houses and condos across Capitol Hill, Dupont, Shaw, and Navy Yard, with demand spiking around cherry blossom season, the Fourth of July, and the 2026 Semiquincentennial calendar. Most hosts operate their primary residence under the District’s license framework.
Old row houses and event-driven occupancyThe property risks are urban and structural: century-old row-house stock with aging systems, party-wall exposure where one fire involves the neighbors, and high-turnover occupancy concentrated around major events. Liability is the bigger story, which is why the District made coverage a condition of the license itself.
District claims most often fail on the basics: a homeowner policy that was never told about the rental, and liability limits below what the license requires. Because coverage is a license condition here, a lapse is not just a gap, it is noncompliance. Confirm your policy names the rental use and meets the District minimum.
The District licenses short-term rentals through a state-style framework: a license for the host’s primary residence, a 90-night annual cap when the host is not present, and, under the Short-Term Rental Regulation Amendment Act of 2026, an expansion that lets renters host with landlord consent, adds a second-property license, and creates a special-events license for Mayor-designated periods. Every license requires liability insurance of at least $250,000 and a Certificate of Clean Hands. Confirm your eligibility category and the coverage the license requires before you list.