RENTAL Act Compliance Checklist for DC Landlords (2026)

The RENTAL Amendment Act of 2025 changed enough moving parts that a quick audit of your paperwork is worth an afternoon. Here's the checklist we run for every property we bring onto Keyhold's platform. Nothing here is legal advice — but it's a good map of where to look.

Notices and nonpayment

1. 1Update your nonpayment notice to a 10-day cure period. The old 30-day pre-filing notice is gone; the minimum is now 10 days. Using a stale 30-day form isn't fatal, but it slows you down for no reason.
2. 2Fix your service method. The notice must go out by certified mail (or a tracked delivery service with return receipt) and by hand delivery to the unit or posting on the front door. Keep the tracking receipt and a dated photo of the posting.
3. 3Calendar the numbers. Build the 10-day cure window and the new "at least 14-day" summons period into your case timeline so you're not guessing.
4. 4Know the court-registry motion. Decide, as a policy, that you'll move for a protective order requiring rent into the court registry in every nonpayment case. See Court registry rent deposits.

Leases and occupancy

1. 1Add a public-safety / illegal-act clause that mirrors the Act's language on dangerous crimes and crimes of violence, and preserves the tenant defenses (VAWA, victim status, "did not know or have reason to know").
2. 2Confirm your retaliation and source-of-income language is intact. The Act did *not* weaken these. In DC, refusing a voucher is illegal source-of-income discrimination.

TOPA and selling

1. 1Determine your building's TOPA status. If your building received its certificate of occupancy within the last 15 years, it may be exempt under the new-construction rule — but you must give written notice of that exemption to tenants (new tenants before they sign; existing tenants within 90 days of the provision's effective date). See The 15-year new-construction exemption.
2. 2Rebuild your offer-of-sale packet. Offers of sale now must reference tenant support providers and no-cost tenant training, and copies go to both tenants and the Mayor's office on the same day.
3. 3Understand the Notice of Transfer. Even some non-sale transfers now require notice to the District and tenants. Read TOPA's Notice of Transfer rules.
4. 4Remember the filing rule. Purchase agreements aren't enforceable unless the required information is filed with DHCD within 30 days of signing.

Voucher-specific steps

1. 1Separate the tenant portion in your ledger. The faster nonpayment tools apply to the tenant's share of rent; your ledger needs to show it cleanly. See Voucher nonpayment: the tenant portion.
2. 2Send DCHA a copy of any eviction notice — the HCV program and your DCHA lease addendum require it, independent of the RENTAL Act.
3. 3Keep VAWA front of mind. Many voucher households have additional protections; the public-safety track has built-in defenses for victims of crime.

The Keyhold version

Every item above is something our software tracks automatically — the notice clock, the service evidence, the TOPA status flag, and the split tenant/HAP ledger. If you'd rather not run this checklist by hand every time, get a free rental analysis and we'll audit your units for you.