The rent is only as real
as the paperwork.
For a buyer weighing a DC row house listed with a basement unit, and for an owner thinking about renting one.
Can I rent out the basement of my DC row house?
Yes, as a two-family rental, once three things are in place. A certificate of occupancy from the Department of Buildings confirms the use meets zoning and the construction codes. A Two-Family Rental basic business license from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection costs $219 for two years. A registration with the Department of Housing and Community Development follows the license.
Is renting a room the same as renting the basement?
No. Renting a room in the house you live in takes a One-Family Rental license and no certificate of occupancy. A basement with its own entrance and kitchen, rented as a separate home, is a second unit, and the two-family rules apply.
How do I check whether a basement unit is legal?
Look it up in about ten minutes. Search the address in the Department of Buildings eRecords for a past certificate of occupancy, which shows the approved use. Search it in SCOUT, the city's license lookup, for a rental license. Then read the property record: the assessor carries some row houses as residential conversions, use code 024, and the city records 6,577 row houses that way. If the record says one unit and the listing says two, ask which one is right.
How many DC listings advertise a basement unit?
In the last two years, 839 fee simple row houses sold with a listing that described a separate unit on the lower level. The listings called it a basement unit, an English basement or an in-law suite. 89 of those listings mentioned a certificate of occupancy. A listing that says nothing is not proof there is none. It is the reason to look it up before you offer.
Does a basement unit add value to a DC row house?
Not on its own. Per square foot, the houses listed with a basement unit sold for about the same as the rest: a median of $478, against $480. Buyers paid for the space, not for the word "unit".
How should I price a house with a basement unit?
Twice. I price it as a single-family house with a finished lower level, and as a house with a licensed unit. When the paperwork is not there, the first number is the one you can count on. A unit is a unit when the city says so.
Read next: converting to two units, fee simple or condo and what the property record tells you.
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Send me every sale on my blockSources. DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Housing Business (license categories, fees, the certificate of occupancy requirement). DC Department of Buildings, Certificate of Occupancy and eRecords. BrightMLS closed sales, fee simple interior and end-of-row houses, public and agent remarks, the two years to October 24, 2026. DC open data, CAMA residential and ITSPE (use code 024).
This page explains rules and practice; it is not legal or tax advice. For a specific house, talk with a DC real estate attorney or a tax professional.