Selling a house in District of Columbia: the paperwork

Every document a District of Columbia sale commonly touches, who usually produces it, and the law behind it. In most sales the seller's own share is small, and this page shows you which part that usually is.

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3documents are usually the seller's

out of 8 in a District of Columbia sale

Tell us about your sale

Answer what you know. Skip what you don't. Every answer takes something off your list or explains why it stays on.

The home

Was the home built before 1978?

Older homes carry a federal lead paint disclosure. It's the same in every state.

Is the home in an HOA, condo, or co-op?

The association has to produce a package, and they can take weeks. Worth knowing early.

Is there a propane, oil, or underground tank?

Tanks are usually leased rather than owned, and the lease has to move with the house.

You and the title

Are you married?

Some states need a spouse's signature even when they're not on the title. Many don't.

Does anyone rent or live in the home besides you?

A lease and its deposit transfer with the sale, and the tenant has to be told.

Do you file U.S. taxes as a citizen or resident?

If you don't, the buyer has to hold back part of the price and send it to the IRS.

Will you be at the closing yourself?

Signing from a distance takes a power of attorney, and it has to be arranged early.

Usually the seller's to produce

In most sales nobody else prepares these. Whether each one applies to you depends on your home, your title, and your buyer.

TOPA notices (Offer of Sale / Notice of Transfer; Forms 1–4)Municipal certificate obtained pre-closing
DC Lead Disclosure Form (pre-1978)Attached to the purchase agreement
UST disclosureAttached to the purchase agreementOn your list because is there a propane, oil, or underground tank

Usually somebody else's to prepare

Commonly handled by a title company, an attorney, a lender, or the county. Listed so none of them is a surprise.

Condominium resale certificate (§ 42-1904.11)In the HOA resale packageOn your list because is the home in an hoa, condo, or co-op
Cooperative disclosuresIn the HOA resale package
DeedRecorded with the county after closing
Recordation & Transfer Tax return (FP-7/C)Filed with a government agency post-closing
1099-SFiled with a government agency post-closing

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What catches District of Columbia sellers out

The things people find out late here. None of this is a ruling on your sale, and every one of them ends with somebody who can actually answer it for you.

A tenant in the home can change the whole timetable

Washington DC gives tenants a right to be offered the property first, and the process runs on notices and waiting periods that can add months to a sale. The rules changed materially under the RENTAL Act 2025 and parts were still settling as this was written. This is generally the first thing to sort out, not the last.

The rule behind it: TOPA, D.C. Code § 42-3404.01 et seq.; RENTAL Act 2025
Who can answer it: A DC real estate attorney, before you list rather than after an offer.

DC's lead rules sit on top of the federal ones

Every pre-1978 home in the country carries the federal lead disclosure. DC adds its own obligations on top, and they are somewhat broader. A generic pre-1978 template will usually satisfy the federal rule and stop there.

The rule behind it: D.C. Code § 8-231.01 et seq.; federal Title X
Who can answer it: The DC Department of Energy and Environment publishes the local requirements.

How District of Columbia generally runs a sale

The broad shape of a sale there, as the research found it. Counties and cities add their own rules on top of all of this.

Closing model — attorney or title agent under attorney supervisionDC settlements are typically conducted by attorneys or title agents; verify the current UPL posture with the DC Bar.

Community property — NOT applicable(common-law jurisdiction).

Tenancy by the entirety — recognizedfor married couples.

HomesteadThe DC Homestead Deduction (D.C. Code § 47-850) is a property-tax deduction, not creditor protection or a conveyance-joinder rule.

Standard deed typesGeneral warranty, special warranty, quitclaim, deed of gift.

Disclosure regime — no comprehensive statutory condition-disclosure form(unlike Maryland's Real Property § 10-702). Common-law fraud/misrepresentation applies, plus subject-specific statutory disclosures (lead, UST, historic, condo resale).

Transfer & recordation taxesRecordation tax (D.C. Code § 42-1103, typically buyer) and transfer tax (D.C. Code § 47-903, typically seller).

RON statusDC made remote notarization permanent via D.C. Law 24-178, the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts Amendment Act of 2022 (from Bill 24-457 / D.C. Act 24-529), effective September 21, 2022;

Recording act — noticeD.C. Code § 42-401. Recorded with the DC Recorder of Deeds.

Notable local overlaysTOPA, rent control, historic preservation, vacant-property tax, green-building requirements, cooperative housing.

Other things District of Columbia asks about

These come up in District of Columbia and almost nowhere else. We don't ask them above because we can't answer them for you yet, but they're worth raising with your title company.

DC-20: Single-family accommodation, 2–4 unit, or 5+ unit? → § 6 TOPA tiers.
DC-24: In a historic district? → § 8 historic preservation.
DC-26: Registered/taxed as vacant or blighted? → § 8 vacant-property tax.

Before you rely on any of this

This is a compilation of published state requirements, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it or your sale. Laws and forms change, counties and cities add their own rules, and whether any of this applies to you depends on facts we don't know. Treat every item as a starting point for a question, not as an answer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on against the official source we link, and run your list past a title company or an attorney licensed in your state.

These counts describe a typical sale, not yours. Which documents you need turns on facts about your home, your title, your buyer, and your county, and one unusual answer can add several or remove them.

Who prepares each document is what usually happens, not a rule. Practice differs between states, between counties, and between one title company and the next, and your contract can move work from one side to the other.

Keighbor is not a real estate brokerage and does not represent you. Nobody here is your agent. We don't negotiate, set your price, recommend a course of action, or take a commission. We provide software that helps you organize your side of the sale.

The full District of Columbia reference

The rest of the research, with every citation kept. This is the same material our own product is built on, and nothing is held back for paying customers. It describes the law as the research found it, not as it applies to your sale.

ALWAYS-required documents

Deed

Tags: [ATTORNEY]/[TITLE/ESCROW]. APPEARS: Recorded with the county after closing.
Citation: recorded with the DC Recorder of Deeds under D.C. Code § 42-401 (notice recording). Must be acknowledged/notarized.

Recordation and Transfer Tax return (FP-7/C)

Tags: [ATTORNEY]/[TITLE/ESCROW]. APPEARS: Filed with a government agency post-closing (submitted with the deed).
Citations: D.C. Code §§ 42-1103, 47-903.
Contents: the return accompanies the deed at recordation and is an integral part of the deed (§ 42-1103(b)(2)).
Official source: https://otr.cfo.dc.gov/

Common-law disclosure of known latent defects

Tags: [SELLER].
Contents: DC has no comprehensive statutory condition-disclosure form; the seller must not misrepresent or conceal known material latent defects (common-law fraud/misrepresentation).

SOMETIMES-required documents (triggered)

Trigger — Any tenant/occupant: TOPA

[SELLER]. APPEARS: Municipal certificate obtained pre-closing. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, D.C. Code § 42-3404.01 et seq. TOPA gives qualifying tenants notice and (in multi-unit buildings) an opportunity to purchase / right of first refusal, converting tenant-occupied sales into a multi-month process. Response/negotiation periods scale with building size (single-family: notice only; 2–4 units and 5+ units carry longer periods, with 5+ units also carrying extended contract/financing windows).

Recent change (single-family): the TOPA Single-Family Home Exemption Amendment Act of 2018, D.C. Law 22-120 (from Bill 22-0315), exempts single-family accommodations — including a single-family home with an accessory dwelling unit, and a single rental unit in a condo/co-op/HOA — from the opportunity-to-purchase/right-of-first-refusal, but tenant NOTICE is still required. Elderly (62+) or disabled tenants who signed a lease by March 31, 2018 and took occupancy by April 15, 2018 retain limited purchase/assignment rights. On the single-family track, the owner delivers Form 1 (Notice of Intent to Sell) to each tenant, plus the Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) and DHCD, via trackable delivery; the tenant has 20 days to respond.
Recent change (major): the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords (RENTAL) Act of 2025 significantly amended TOPA (effective December 31, 2025), including a 15-year exemption for multifamily buildings measured from certificate-of-occupancy issuance (with retroactive effect), retroactive new-construction exemptions (buildings built 2010–2025), and covenant-based exemptions (buyer covenants that 51% of units stay affordable at 80% AMI for 20 years). A Notice of Transfer is still required for exempt buildings, and tenants have 45 days to register a tenant association to contest. This area is in flux and subject to congressional review — verify current mechanics and forms with DHCD/OTA.
Source: https://dhcd.dc.gov/service/tenant-opportunity-purchase-assistance

Trigger — Pre-1978 structure: DC lead

[SELLER]. DC Lead Hazard Prevention and Elimination Act, D.C. Code § 8-231.01 et seq. (amended 2010, effective March 31, 2011). The DC lead-disclosure obligation (§ 8-231.04) layers atop federal Title X; owners must disclose known lead-based paint/hazards and any pending Mayor's orders on the DC lead-disclosure form (which incorporates the federal Lead Warning Statement per 24 C.F.R. §§ 35.90/35.92 and 40 C.F.R. § 745.107). DC law makes lead-based paint hazards illegal in pre-1978 residential units and imposes a somewhat higher disclosure obligation than the federal baseline. Source: https://doee.dc.gov/service/lead-related-regulatory-and-legislative-affairs

Trigger — Underground storage tank

[SELLER]. DC UST disclosure requirements apply for buildings with USTs (D.C. Code Title 8 UST provisions; verify current citation and form).

Trigger — Condominium

Condominium resale certificate. [HOA / MGMT CO]. APPEARS: In the HOA resale package. D.C. Code § 42-1904.11: the selling unit owner must obtain from the association and furnish to the buyer, on or before the 10th business day after execution of the contract of sale, a copy of the condominium instruments and a certificate setting forth capital expenditures, reserves, financial statement/current budget, pending suits/judgments, insurance, and § 42-1903.13(h) statements. If not furnished by the 10th business day, the buyer may cancel in writing before receipt of the documents and before conveyance. New-condo (declarant) sales carry a 15-day rescission from the later of contract execution or delivery of the current public offering statement (D.C. Code § 42-1904.09 and § 42-1903.13). Source: https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/42-1904.11

Trigger — Cooperative

DC cooperative housing disclosures, D.C. Code § 42-2001 et seq. (limited-equity co-ops common in DC).

Trigger — Historic district

Historic Preservation Act, D.C. Code § 6-1101 et seq.; Historic Preservation Review Board approvals for exterior alterations.

Trigger — Rental unit

Rental housing registration / Housing Provider License (Department of Buildings) and rent-control-status disclosure.

Prescribed-language items (substance-over-form)

TOPA notices

The Offer of Sale / Notice of Intent to Sell must contain statutorily specified content and be delivered by trackable means to the tenant, OTA, and DHCD (D.C. Code § 42-3404.03 et seq., as amended by the RENTAL Act 2025). DHCD publishes prescribed forms (Forms 1–4 for single-family accommodations; a Notice of Transfer for 5+ units). A FSBO must use the current DHCD forms and meet the delivery/timeline mechanics exactly.

DC lead disclosure

§ 8-231.04 requires the Mayor-issued lead-disclosure form incorporating the federal Lead Warning Statement (24 C.F.R. §§ 35.90/35.92; 40 C.F.R. § 745.107).

Condominium cancellation clause

The public offering statement and sales contract must state the purchaser's right to cancel, in a form prescribed by the Mayor (with Spanish equivalent) — D.C. Code § 42-1904.09.

Local / municipal overlays

Not exhaustive — notable examples include:

Rent control / rent stabilization. Strong DC regime; rent-controlled status is a critical buyer disclosure (Rental Housing Act of 1985, D.C. Code § 42-3501.01 et seq.).
First-Time Homebuyer recordation-tax reduction. Reduced recordation rate of 0.725% for eligible first-time buyers of a principal residence; per DC OTR guidance, the reduction applies to "transactions $647,000 and below." Verify the current cap and eligibility mechanics.
Vacant/blighted property tax. D.C. Code § 42-3131.01 et seq.; Class 3 (vacant, 5% rate) and Class 4 (blighted) carry punitive rates. Verify current classifications.
Green Building Act. D.C. Code § 6-1451.01 et seq.
Historic preservation districts — HPRB review for exterior work.
Commercial/mixed-use transfer/recordation (economic-interest transfers) taxed at higher combined rates; a 2019 surcharge raised certain Class 2 transfers ≥ $2M to 5% combined, which expired September 30, 2023 — such transfers now revert to 2.9% combined. Verify current thresholds.

Post-closing obligations

Recording with the DC Recorder of Deeds (notice act, § 42-401).
Recordation & transfer taxes paid at recording (§§ 42-1103, 47-903).
No separate DC non-resident seller withholding at closing beyond federal FIRPTA (verify current OTR guidance).
1099-S / capital gains / mortgage satisfaction — see § 10.
TOPA post-sale compliance — where applicable, documentation of tenant notice/waiver retained.

Federal overlays (cross-reference)

See 01-methodology-v2.md § 8 for the full federal overlay set: Title X lead paint (pre-1978); FIRPTA (26 U.S.C. § 1445); 1099-S (26 U.S.C. § 6045(e)); wire-fraud advisory; Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. § 3601); RESPA/TRID.

FinCEN Residential Real Estate Rule (31 CFR 1031.320) — currently suspended. The Rule was effective March 1, 2026 and vacated nationwide March 19, 2026 (Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent, E.D. Tex.); DOJ is appealing to the Fifth Circuit; a conflicting M.D. Fla. ruling (Fidelity National Financial, Inc. v. Bessent, Feb. 2026) upheld it. Treat as suspended pending appeal.

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