Dorchester House Associates Ltd. Partnership v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 938 A.2d 696 (2007)

Citation: Dorchester House Associates Ltd. Partnership v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 938 A.2d 696 (2007)
Parent Document: Dorchester House Associates Ltd. Partnership v. District of Columbia Rental Housing Commission, 938 A.2d 696 (2007)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 2007-12-20
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1440723/dorchester-house-associates-ltd... ↗

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We reject Dorchester’s argument that the RHC was without authority to require a showing of Dorchester House’s presumptive or actual substantial compliance with the housing code as a condition of approval of Dorchester’s capital improvement petition. However, we agree with Dorchester that the RHC too narrowly applied the applicable statute and regulation (ie., by requiring an inspection of the housing accommodation within the 30-day pre-petition period as a condition of petition approval, rather than recognizing that such a pre-petition inspection was an option available to the housing provider, to take advantage of a statutory presumption of housing code compliance in connection with the filing of a petition for a rent ceiling adjustment). We also are persuaded that the RHC’s decision upset Dorches-ter’s reasonable expectations based on the Rent Administrator’s past practice with respect to what documentation is required in connection with capital improvement petitions. We conclude that this matter must be remanded so that Dorchester will have an opportunity to present evidence bearing on whether Dorchester House is, presumptively or actually, in substantial compliance with the housing code. Statutory and Regulatory Background In our opinion in

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