§ 6-641.09 — Building permits; certificates of occupancy.

District of Columbia § 6-641.09

• Jurisdiction: District of Columbia
• Title 6: Housing and Building Restrictions and Regulations.
• Ch. 6: Zoning and Height of Buildings.
• Subch. IV: Zoning Regulations; Board of Zoning Adjustment.

Text

(a) It shall be unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, convert, or alter any building or structure or part thereof within the District of Columbia without obtaining a building permit from the Director of the Department of Buildings, and said Director shall not issue any permit for the erection, construction, reconstruction, conversion, or alteration of any building or structure, or any part thereof, unless the plans of and for the proposed erection, construction, reconstruction, conversion, or alteration fully conform to the provisions of this subchapter and of the regulations adopted under said sections. In the event that said regulations provide for the issuance of certificates of occupancy or other form of permit to use, it shall be unlawful to use any building, structure, or land until such certificate or permit be first obtained. It shall be unlawful to erect, construct, reconstruct, alter, convert, or maintain or to use any building, structure, or part thereof or any land within the District of Columbia in violation of the provisions of said sections or of any of the provisions of the regulations adopted under said sections. The owner or person in charge of or maintaining any such building or land or any other person who erects, constructs, reconstructs, alters, converts, maintains, or uses any building or structure or part thereof or land in violation of said sections or of any regulation adopted under said sections, shall upon conviction for such violation on information filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Attorney General for the District of Columbia or any of his assistants in the name of said District and which Court is hereby authorized to hear and determine such cases be punished by a fine of not more than $100 per day for each and every day such violation shall continue. The Attorney General for the District of Columbia of the District of Columbia or any neighboring property owner or occupant who would be specially damaged by any such violation may, in addition to all other remedies provided by law, institute injunction, mandamus, or other appropriate action or proceeding to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, conversion, maintenance, or use, or to correct or abate such violation or to prevent the occupancy of such building, structure, or land. Civil fines, penalties, and fees may be imposed as alternative sanctions for any infraction of the provisions of this subchapter, or any rules or regulations issued under the authority of these sections, pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2 . Adjudication of any infraction of this chapter shall be pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2 .

(b) A building permit shall not be issued to or on behalf of the District government unless proper notice has been given under § 1-309.10 . The Department of Buildings shall issue a cease and desist order to enjoin any construction project that is issued in noncompliance with this section.

(c) Repealed.

Legislative History

June 20, 1938, 52 Stat. 800, ch. 534, § 10; Apr. 1, 1942, 56 Stat. 190, ch. 207, § 1; July 8, 1963, 77 Stat. 77, Pub. L. 88-60, § 1; July 29, 1970, 84 Stat. 570, Pub. L. 91-358, title I, § 155(a); Oct. 5, 1985, D.C. Law 6-42, § 450, 32 DCR 4450; Apr. 13, 2005, D.C. Law 15-349, § 3, 52 DCR 1997