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October 1, 2026 marks a major change in how D.C. rental housing providers can charge for and regulate pets. Pet Deposits are capped, Pet Rent is limited, and breed, size, and weight-based restrictions are barred for covered leases.

While the rules look straightforward on their face, squaring them with D.C.’s existing laws on rent control, utility fees, and security deposits is not.

Why October 1?

The Pets in Housing Amendment Act of 2024 became effective in March 2025, but a fiscal provision requiring pet-friendly homeless-shelter funding held up its implementation. The fiscal year 2027 budget legislation limits the funding condition to the still-unfunded pet-friendly shelter requirement, allowing the provisions regulating rental housing providers to apply as of October 1, 2026.

In other words, while the law was enacted in 2025, it couldn’t be implemented because it bundled an (unfunded) pet-friendly shelter requirement. Now, as of October 1, the landlord provisions (which did not drive the law’s identified fiscal cost) are no longer held back by the still-unfunded shelter requirement.

Pet Deposits and Pet Rent

A housing provider can charge a refundable Pet Deposit of up to 15% of monthly rent, in addition to the ordinary security deposit for the unit. Providers can use that Pet Deposit only for damage directly caused by the pet that exceeds ordinary wear and tear.

Providers may also charge monthly Pet Rent, capped at:

• 1% of the first full month’s rent for each dog
• 1% of the first full month’s rent for all non-dog common household pets combined

Other than the Pet Deposit and monthly Pet Rent, pet-related charges should be treated as presumptively prohibited. That includes pet screening, registration, administrative, DNA, inspection, and similar fees unrelated to actual damage caused by the pet (even if payments are routed through a third-party vendor).

An End to Breed Restrictions

Housing providers can no longer impose restrictions or special charges based on a pet’s breed, size, or weight. They can still maintain reasonable rules addressing safety, sanitation, maintenance, and the number of pets allowed in a unit.

The law also does not require every property to permit pets. Landlords can continue to operate pet-free properties or require written approval before allowing a pet.

Assistance Animals Are Not Pets

The new D.C. law regulates common household pets, but service and assistance animals are separate.

A request for a reasonable accommodation involving an animal is not a request for permission to keep a pet, and leasing and property-management staff should be trained accordingly. An animal required as a reasonable accommodation is not subject to ordinary pet-approval rules, Pet Deposits, or Pet Rent. Pet forms and fee documents should also not be presented to applicants requesting an accommodation.

Federal guidance in this area continues to develop, though. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development changed its enforcement position concerning emotional support animals in May 2026. That guidance does not supply a single answer for every property or request, and the inquiry remains highly individualized. Accommodation requests should remain separate from ordinary pet policies and must be evaluated under applicable law.

Questions the Law Does Not Answer

The Pet Deposit cap refers to “monthly rent,” while the Pet Rent cap refers to the “first full month’s rent charged” to the tenant. The law does not define either term for this purpose.

That matters because D.C. law defines rent broadly enough to include more than the amount labeled “base rent” in a lease. Landlord-collected utility charges and other mandatory payments could affect the calculation.

The answer could also differ when a lease begins with a prorated or discounted month, a pet is approved, removed, replaced, or added mid-lease, or the lease renews at a higher rent.

The statute also calls the monthly pet charge additional rent. For rent-controlled units, that creates another issue. The 1% limit may establish the maximum Pet Rent permitted under the new law without independently authorizing an increase outside D.C.’s ordinary rent-control process.

The law provides little transition guidance, either. It does not explain how owners should handle Pet Deposits already above the new cap or pet-related charges that continue under older leases. Those questions depend on the property, the lease, and the timing and nature of the charge.

Unauthorized Pets and Reasonable Rules

The new law does not automatically or retroactively authorize all pets. Keeping a pet in violation of a no-pets or prior-approval policy can still constitute a breach of the lease and grounds for a possession action. Landlords can continue to enforce their leases and recover documented damage caused by an animal.

Landlords are also still able to respond to an individual animal’s conduct. Documented aggression, repeated nuisance behavior, sanitation problems, and property damage can support an individualized decision to limit or prohibit a particular problem pet.

What owners should not do is replace a prohibited breed restriction with another rule that produces the same result. An onerous insurance requirement imposed only on particular breeds, for example, may be an indirect breed restriction rather than a neutral safety policy.

Answers Lie in Your Leases and Ledgers

Housing providers should review more than their leases and addenda for compliance. The law can affect fee schedules, billing systems, deposit procedures, relationships with third-party platforms, staff training, and property-level policies.

October 1 resolves when the landlord provisions become operative. It does not resolve every question about how they apply. Those questions require attention across your D.C. rental portfolio.