If your Washington, DC lease includes air conditioning, you are responsible for keeping the equipment working, and the city backs that obligation with a specific temperature formula, set dates, an annual inspection, and a tenant complaint process.
Use the DC temperature calculator.
When the lease includes air conditioning
Washington, DC does not require every rental unit to have air conditioning. The obligation applies when air conditioning is part of the rental, whether because the lease requires it or because the property already includes it. According to the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate, when a lease requires air conditioning, the landlord must maintain it.
Either way: the landlord must keep the equipment working.
The temperature formula
If air conditioning comes with the rental, the equipment must be safe and kept in good enough working order to meet a temperature formula. For rooms the system serves, the maximum indoor temperature is whichever is higher: 78°F or 15°F below the outdoor temperature.
- At 90°F outdoors, the maximum is 78°F.
- At 100°F outdoors, the maximum is 85°F.
The result is the warmest indoor temperature the formula permits, not a recommended thermostat setting.
The enforcement basis is Administrative Bulletin 2025-03 from DC’s Department of Buildings (DOB). DOB primarily enforces the cooling provisions in the Title 12-G property maintenance code rather than the older Title 14 housing code provision, although Title 14 may still be used depending on the circumstances. You can read the formula in the city’s own words on DOB’s housing code standards page.
The calculator beside this article applies the formula to any outdoor temperature you enter. It does not decide whether the rule applies to your lease or property, whether your system qualifies for the date exception below, whether a particular reading proves a violation, or how a complaint will turn out.
Interactive DC temperature check
DC Air Conditioning Temperature Limit Calculator
Enter the outdoor temperature to see the warmest indoor temperature DC’s formula permits for a rental that includes air conditioning.
Higher of 78°F or outdoor temperature − 15°F
Checking the latest official KDCA observation…
°F at Washington/Reagan National Airport, DC (KDCA)
This airport observation is a reference point. It does not show the temperature at a rental property or determine whether the rule applies.
°F maximum
This result is the warmest indoor temperature the formula allows in rooms the system serves. It is not a recommended thermostat setting.
Dates: The general period runs from May 15 to September 15. A two-pipe system, or another system that reasonably needs more than 15 days to change from heat to air conditioning, has a June 1 start date. That exception changes the start date, not this calculation.
What this tool cannot decide: This calculator applies the temperature formula only. It does not determine whether your lease or property is subject to the rule, whether your system qualifies for the June 1 start date, whether a particular measurement proves a violation, or how a complaint will turn out.
Source: DC’s Department of Buildings, DC Housing Code Standards and Administrative Bulletin 2025-03
The dates, including the two-pipe exception
The general period runs from May 15 through September 15. Your system needs to meet the formula by May 15 at the latest and keep meeting it through at least September 15.
One exception moves the start date. A two-pipe system, or another system that reasonably needs more than 15 days to change from heat to air conditioning, has a June 1 start date. The formula itself stays the same once the period begins. Both the 2025 DOB bulletin and the housing code standards page describe these dates.
The annual inspection and the seven-day filing
The Office of the Tenant Advocate tells landlords whose leases require air conditioning to have the units inspected every year by a master refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanic between September 1 and May 1. The inspection results must be filed with DOB within seven days after you receive them.
That September-to-May window is the time to get a licensed mechanic on the calendar so the equipment is verified before May 15, and the seven-day deadline is worth a reminder so the report does not sit in an inbox.
Have the unit inspected every year by a master refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanic.
File them with DOB.
After a tenant reports a problem
When a tenant reports a broken AC, log the report, schedule a vendor, and keep the tenant informed while the work is lined up. DOB tells tenants to report the problem to the landlord or property manager first. If it is not fixed within 10 days, the tenant may file a complaint with the city. Emergency complaints follow a 24-hour process, but broken air conditioning is not automatically an emergency. After a complaint, DOB generally schedules an inspection within 15 business days.
Those figures describe complaint eligibility and agency scheduling. None of them promises when your repair will be finished. For the broader repair picture, our guide to DC landlord repair laws covers how the city approaches habitability repairs generally.
If heat is creating an immediate medical risk for anyone in the home, the person affected should seek medical help first.
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington, DC require air conditioning in every rental?
No. DC does not impose a blanket requirement to install air conditioning in rental properties. When a lease requires air conditioning, the landlord must maintain it, according to the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate. If your lease includes AC, plan on keeping the equipment safe and in working order.
What temperature does DC require when a rental includes air conditioning?
For rooms the system serves, the maximum indoor temperature is whichever is higher: 78°F or 15°F below the outdoor temperature. At 90°F outdoors, the limit is 78°F. At 100°F outdoors, the limit is 85°F. The result is the warmest indoor temperature the formula permits, not a recommended thermostat setting.
My tenant reported a broken AC. When can the tenant file a complaint, and does that set my repair deadline?
DC’s Department of Buildings tells tenants to report the problem to the landlord or property manager first. If the problem is not fixed within 10 days, the tenant may file a complaint, and DOB generally schedules an inspection within 15 business days after a complaint. Emergency complaints follow a 24-hour process, but broken air conditioning is not automatically an emergency. These figures describe complaint eligibility and agency scheduling. They do not promise when your repair will be finished.
What annual inspection and filing does DC require for air conditioning?
The Office of the Tenant Advocate tells landlords whose leases require air conditioning to have the units inspected every year by a master refrigeration and air-conditioning mechanic between September 1 and May 1. The inspection results must be filed with DC’s Department of Buildings within seven days after the landlord receives them.
Nomadic Real Estate
Getting help with the coordination
Owning the obligation does not mean you have to coordinate every part of it yourself. Nomadic Real Estate manages DC single-family homes, condo units, and small multifamily buildings, and our team coordinates maintenance, works with vendors, logs non-emergency work orders, responds to emergencies around the clock, and keeps both tenants and owners informed.
If you would rather hand off that coordination, review our property management services or call 202-223-9019 to talk through your property. This article is general information for DC property owners, not legal advice. Nomadic Real Estate is a property management company, not a law firm or government agency.
