How to Legally List on Airbnb in DC

• May 8, 2017

by Nena Perry-Brown

A house listed on Airbnb in Georgetown.

In recent years, UrbanTurf has explored how Airbnb and other short-term online rental services have been used by homeowners (and renters) to monetize their lodgings in the region. Now, DC is in the midst of considering a bill to consolidate the regulations for these services in hopes of curtailing illegal rentals in the city.

While many hosts may be listing their homes on these services for profit, another part of the problem is that some hosts are unaware of what needs to be done to ensure their listings are legal.

In light of this, UrbanTurf asked the city’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to provide the most recent requirements for residents seeking to legally list their homes on Airbnb or a comparable site. Below is a chart outlining how short-term rentals can be deemed legal in DC.

DCRA’s short-term rental requirements

Bear in mind that many leases or association documents for multi-family dwellings ban short-term rentals by renters and owners. Airbnb’s fine print requires that any hosts abide by their local laws; however, their director of public policy admitted that the service has no mechanism to reimburse monies made from illegal listings.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/how_to_legally_list_on_airbnb_in_dc/12537