| Homeowners Center
DCRA’s Homeowners Center is devoted to helping homeowners get building permits for home improvement projects such as decks, fences, interior renovations and repairs, and window replacement.
We’ll give you general information about permit regulations and procedures; explain application requirements for your project; help you get a plat; review your plan; and issue your permit when your plan is approved. Our goal is to make your experience as convenient as possible.
'Skip the Trip' to DCRA Altogether
The new Virtual Permit Center offers a popular District online service, DCRA’s “Postcard Permit” for home improvements at the District’s The Home Depot store at 901 Rhode Island Avenue, NE. The Home Depot is highly Metro-accessible, right next to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station on the Red Line.
Where is the Center and when is it open?
Come to 1100 4th Street SW, 2nd Floor. We are open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 8:30 am - 4:15 pm and Thursday from 9:30 am – 4:30 pm. Call (202) 442-9470.
Who can get a building permit in the Homeowners Center?
Any owner of a single family dwelling or two-family flat, who uses the home as their primary residence.
Why get a building permit?
Your building permit helps you and DCRA make sure that your home improvement project is done safely and properly. A plans reviewer and a field inspector will carefully review your plans and work descriptions for compliance with DC Government codes and regulations. Getting a permit will also reduce the risk of homeowner’s insurance liability and fines for illegal construction.
How to Reach Us
To contact the Homeowners Center or to schedule an appointment, call (202) 442-9470 or stop by.
Homeowners Center Resources
For information about permit requirements, codes, plans, cost estimation, scheduling and more, read You Can Build It In DC!*, a self-help guide provided by the International Code Council® Foundation (ICCF) and DCRA to aid “do-it-yourselfers” with building projects.
Home Improvement Safety Information
New Federal Law Regarding Lead Safety
Beginning December 22, 2008, anyone paid to renovate residential housing or child-occupied facilities (such as daycare centers) built before 1978 must provide a new EPA pamphlet, entitled Renovate Right, to the owners and occupants. Both DCRA and the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) have already begun making the Renovate Right brochures available to the public.
If you are a contractor, feel free to download the new EPA pamphlets below in English and Spanish. DCRA is also providing sample renovation checklists and pre-renovation confirmation forms.
The brochure requirement begins the national implementation of a sweeping set of EPA regulations called the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule, otherwise known as RRP. The rule establishes requirements for training and certifying individual renovators and renovation firms, to ensure that the work they do in properties that may contain lead paint is done safely, without generating lead hazards. The rule also establishes cleanup requirements for those whose work disturbs paint in these properties. The use of lead-based paint was not restricted nationally until 1978, and the bulk of the District’s housing was built before lead paint was banned.
| 
