A bill introduced by Mayor Muriel Bowser in March would allow D.C. residents who own a second property in the District to rent it out on Airbnb and similar platforms, dropping the city's longstanding requirement that short-term rental hosts live in the home they list.

The Short-Term Rental Regulation Amendment Act of 2026 (B26-0647) also opens the door for renters to host guests at their primary residence and creates a new "special event" license for holidays and major events. The legislation has sat in committee since March 13 without a vote, but residents in at least one Brightwood neighborhood say they only learned about it in August.

What the bill changes

Under the District's current short-term rental law, enacted in 2019, only owner-occupants who qualify for the Homestead Deduction may hold a license. Renters, LLCs, out-of-state owners and corporations are shut out.

The proposed legislation would:

  • Let renters operate short-term rentals at their primary residence, provided the unit is not rent-stabilized, the lease allows it and the host lives there at least 183 days per year.
  • Allow D.C. residents to license a second property they own in the District. If that property is unoccupied, rentals would be capped at 90 nights per year.
  • Create a "special event" license letting hosts rent during mayor-designated holidays without remaining on the premises.
  • Consolidate the existing "Short-Term Rental" and "Vacation Rental" license categories into one and simplify the primary-residence definition.

"Washington, DC is a city of homeowners, renters, and entrepreneurs, and this legislation works for all of them," Bowser said in a March 13 press release. The bill was introduced jointly with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, led by Director Tiffany Crowe.

Scale of the expansion

D.C. currently has roughly 5,098 active short-term rental listings, according to AirROI market data. With about 184,920 renter-occupied households in the District and approximately 72,878 under rent stabilization, more than 112,000 renter households could theoretically become eligible to host. Lease restrictions would reduce that number further. AirROI estimates that if 2–5% of eligible households obtained licenses, the city could see 2,240 to 5,600 new listings, a 44–110% increase.

Enforcement gaps already on the table

A Brightwood resident wrote to the neighborhood blog PoPville on Aug. 12 describing a non-owner-occupied Airbnb on their block that appears to be owned by a Virginia resident. The listing already violates current law.

The problem is not abstract. The resident described repeated large parties, garbage piled on the property and a surge in rats on the block.

"One big issue is that no DC department or office seems to be charged with or authorized to enforce current laws/regs," the resident wrote. "If we get any traction with a department and a case is opened, they find that the owner has a license so the case gets closed."

The resident said many Brightwood neighbors were unaware the bill existed.

Enforcement struggles extend beyond one block. DLCP issued more than 300 notices of infraction in Ward 6 alone as of April 17, according to a BNBCalc regulatory guide citing a HillRag report. Roughly half of those hosts came into compliance after receiving the warning.

What's next

B26-0647 has been referred to the D.C. Council's Committee on Public Works and Operations and the Committee of the Whole. No committee hearing date has been publicly scheduled. Bowser, who announced in November 2025 that she will not seek a fourth term, leaves office in January 2027. The current STR license fee is $99 for a two-year term; violation penalties start at $500 for a first offense and escalate to $6,000 plus license revocation for a third.