Washington DC Property Management
That Costs the Same at $2,600 or $3,800

We charge a flat monthly fee — not a percentage of your rent. Most DC managers charge 8–10% of monthly rent, which means a Georgetown property at $3,800/mo costs you $304–$380/mo in management fees alone. On a Capitol Hill rowhouse at $3,200/mo that's $256–$320/mo forever; on an Adams Morgan condo at $2,600/mo it's $208–$260/mo. With Flat Fee Landlord, your management fee stays the same whether your property rents for $2,600 in Adams Morgan or $3,800 in Georgetown — starting at $139/mo. Tenant placement is priced separately ($500–$1,500 one-time), and lease warranty is an add-on. DC is the market where the flat fee savings compound fastest.

Yes. Every lease we write is fully compliant with the DC Rental Housing Act and the Tenant Protection Amendments — including security deposit caps (one month's rent), 30-day notice-to-vacate requirements, 30-day rent increase notifications, required lead paint and mold disclosures, and the DC-specific voucher non-discrimination rules. DC landlord-tenant law is among the most tenant-protective in the country and it changes frequently — we track every DCRA and Rental Accommodations Division update so you don't have to.

TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) is the DC law that gives tenants the right of first refusal before a landlord can sell a rental property. The landlord must deliver a formal Offer of Sale notice, give tenants a statutory window to match the price (30–180 days depending on unit count), and preserve that right through closing. Missing a TOPA step lets tenants sue to rescind the sale — we've seen DC landlords lose six-figure sale proceeds on a technical TOPA defect. We manage the entire TOPA process on every managed property: notice drafting, service of process, response windows, third-party assignment documentation, and release recording. TOPA applies to single-family homes (with carveouts), condos, and multi-unit buildings — there is no neighborhood exemption.

Rent stabilization applies to most DC buildings built before 1976 with 5 or more units, but exempt small-unit buildings and newer construction still have to file for exemption. Annual rent increases on stabilized units are capped at CPI + 2% (capped at 10% total), with lower caps for elderly/disabled tenants. A majority of the housing stock in Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, Adams Morgan, Georgetown, and Logan Circle is pre-1976 — Navy Yard, NoMa, and most of Tenleytown new construction is post-1976 and not stabilized. We audit your property's construction year and exemption status on day one, file required Rental Accommodations Division paperwork, and recalculate compliant rent increases at every renewal. Violating rent stabilization triggers tenant lawsuits, RAD penalties, and rent rollbacks — it's the most expensive mistake a DC landlord can make.

Our DC average is 16 days from listing to signed lease. Capitol Hill, Dupont Circle, and Navy Yard often lease in under two weeks due to steady Congressional staff, federal agency, and downtown professional demand. Georgetown and Kalorama take slightly longer (18–22 days) because higher price points narrow the applicant pool — but tenure is also longer. Foggy Bottom sits in a different demand pattern driven by State Department, World Bank, IMF, and GWU rotations. Our 21-day placement guarantee means if we miss 21 days, we waive your first two months' management fees — a direct financial incentive to move fast.

We cover 12 premium DC neighborhoods: Capitol Hill, Georgetown, Dupont Circle, Logan Circle, Navy Yard, Shaw, Adams Morgan, Cleveland Park, Woodley Park, Foggy Bottom, Tenleytown, and Kalorama — plus Columbia Heights, Petworth, Brookland, and the broader District. We manage single-family rowhouses, condos, and small multi-unit buildings throughout NW, Capitol Hill SE, and the Navy Yard / Southwest Waterfront corridor.

DC rents cluster tightly by submarket and unit type. Kalorama single-family runs $3,500–$4,200/mo, Georgetown $3,400–$4,000/mo, Foggy Bottom and Capitol Hill $3,000–$3,500/mo, Dupont Circle $2,800–$3,300/mo, Woodley Park and Cleveland Park $2,700–$3,100/mo, Logan Circle and Shaw $2,600–$3,000/mo, Navy Yard $2,500–$3,000/mo, and Adams Morgan and Tenleytown $2,400–$2,800/mo. Most landlords we meet are under-pricing by $150–$400/mo because they benchmark to 2023 comps or overweight one loud neighbor. We pull active and recently-leased comps within a 6-block radius, adjust for parking, outdoor space, laundry, and condition, and target a price that leases in 2–3 weeks at the top of the range — not one that sits for 60 days.

DC evictions route through the Superior Court Landlord & Tenant Branch at 510 4th Street NW. Non-payment cases require a 30-day pay-or-quit notice (longer than most states) before filing; court hearings are typically scheduled 4–6 weeks after filing, and writs of restitution issue within 75 days of judgment. The full timeline runs 90–150 days on average — substantially longer than Virginia or Maryland because of DC's tenant-protective procedures, mandatory mediation, and right-to-counsel program. We handle the entire DC eviction process — notices, RAD paperwork, court filings, legal coordination, and U.S. Marshal scheduling — so you never manage it alone. Eviction protection is included with management, not an add-on.

DC caps security deposits at one month's rent (tighter than Virginia's two-month cap). Landlords must return the deposit within 45 days of lease termination, with an itemized list of deductions and supporting receipts or invoices for any repair charge over $125. Deposits must be held in a separate interest-bearing DC bank account, and tenants are entitled to the accrued interest on return. Failure to itemize, failure to return on time, or failure to pay interest triggers tenant lawsuits for up to 3× the deposit plus attorney's fees. On every lease we manage, we track the 45-day clock, document move-in and move-out condition with timestamped photos, calculate interest correctly, and handle itemization so deposit disputes don't become court filings.

Yes — and Washington DC has a higher concentration of these relocating professional tenants than any other market we serve. Congressional staff turn over on a 2-year cycle tied to election outcomes (every November of an even year triggers a January turnover wave in Capitol Hill and Navy Yard). State Department Foreign Service Officers rotate on 1–3 year tours, World Bank and IMF staff on 2–4 year contracts, and GWU faculty and fellows on academic calendars. A high-income tenant who leaves in 14 months on an orders-driven break clause costs more than a moderate-income tenant who stays for 3 years. On every federal or multilateral placement, we verify assignment length, agency HR contact, diplomatic immunity status (if applicable), and pay-grade-to-rent ratio before approving — and we write break clauses that match the orders cycle so we stay ahead of turnover.

Two DC-specific risks that almost no out-of-market manager catches. Diplomatic immunity can make a tenant effectively un-evictable — some embassy staff hold Vienna Convention protections that block normal court process. We screen for diplomatic status, require embassy-issued letters of indemnity where applicable, and in some cases decline diplomatic applicants outright to protect the landlord. Government shutdown risk affects federal employee tenants during continuing resolution fights — we stress-test W-2 income for shutdown exposure, require emergency fund verification on federal-employee applications, and include ACH auto-pay provisions so missed-paycheck situations don't cascade into 30-day pay-or-quit filings. These are table stakes in DC and almost nowhere else.

Navy Yard is DC's newest major rental corridor — the Nationals ballpark opened in 2008 and most of the residential stock is post-2010. That means two advantages versus Capitol Hill or Dupont: nothing is rent-stabilized (post-1976 exemption) and most buildings have modern amenities commanding $2,800–$3,200/mo rents for 1-bedrooms and $3,500–$4,200/mo for 2-bedrooms. Tenant mix is heavily concentrated in Congressional staffers (walking distance to Capitol Hill offices), tech workers, and younger professionals with high W-2 income but short intended tenure. We price Navy Yard properties aggressively at the top of the range, screen for minimum 18-month lease intent, and build renewal incentives into Year 1 pricing to offset the shorter-tenure pattern.