Washington DC mid-term rental financing is the compliance-aware path between long-term DSCR holds and nightly Airbnb under DC’s 90-night STR cap and licensing rules. Mid-term rentals (MTR) — furnished 30–90 day stays — capture corporate, federal, and medical assignment demand without the enforcement risk of illegal nightly STR.
Hub: investment property financing Washington DC · Rules: DC STR license rules · National: Airbnb DSCR
MTR vs STR vs long-term — DC split
| Strategy | Stay length | DC compliance | DSCR fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long-term lease | 12+ months | Rent control research | Default DSCR |
| Mid-term furnished | 30–90 days | Often outside nightly STR cap | Select MTR programs |
| Nightly STR | 1–29 days | License + 90-night primary residence rules | STR-specific |
DC 90-night STR cap — why investors pivot to MTR
DC’s short-term rental framework limits many hosts to 90 nights per year when the property is not a licensed commercial STR or does not qualify for extended hosting. Practical impact for investors:
| STR profile | 90-night cap impact | MTR alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-occ house hack | 90 nights on secondary unit — insufficient for scale | Furnished 30–90 day leases on basement |
| Non-owner-occ investor | STR license required; enforcement active | MTR structured as lease, not nightly booking |
| Condo investor | HOA often bans all short stays | MTR if bylaws allow ≥30-day stays |
| Rowhouse investor (whole unit) | License + cap on unlicensed hosting | Corporate furnished 45-day average |
Full rules: DC STR license rules 2026
MTR stays of 30+ days structured as written leases typically fall outside nightly STR licensing — verify classification with counsel and DHCD rental registration rules before scaling.
Corporate and federal demand drivers (2026)
DC MTR demand is structural — not seasonal tourism:
| Demand source | Typical stay | Corridors | Rent premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional staff rotations | 60–120 days | Capitol Hill, Navy Yard | 1.30x–1.50x LTR |
| Federal contractor assignments | 30–90 days | Navy Yard, Shaw, Crystal City spillover | 1.25x–1.45x LTR |
| Medical/residency rotations | 30–60 days | Columbia Heights, Petworth | 1.20x–1.40x LTR |
| Corporate relocation (temp) | 30–90 days | Dupont-adjacent, Georgetown fringe | 1.35x–1.55x LTR |
| Remote worker furnished | 30–60 days | Shaw, Brookland | 1.20x–1.35x LTR |
Why DC investors pivot to MTR
- 90-night cap limits pure Airbnb scale on many owner profiles
- Federal contractor rotations support furnished premium near Capitol Hill and Navy Yard
- Furnished premium often 1.25x–1.55x long-term rent on same rowhouse unit
- Rent control on qualifying long-term units — MTR structure differs; verify with counsel
- Transfer tax on acquisition still applies — recordation guide
Neighborhood fit (2026)
| Corridor | MTR demand driver |
|---|---|
| Capitol Hill | Congressional and staff rotations |
| Navy Yard | Contractor and corporate |
| Shaw | Downtown-adjacent assignments |
| Petworth | Remote worker furnished demand |
Hold spokes: DSCR Capitol Hill · DSCR Navy Yard
Worked example: Capitol Hill furnished MTR
- Acquisition: $595,000 rowhouse — upper unit MTR, legal basement long-term
- Recordation + transfer (1.45% + 1.45%): $17,255 — statute math below, included in all-in basis
- Furnish upper: $35,000
- MTR gross upper: $4,100/mo on 45-day average bookings
- Basement long-term: $1,750/mo
- Total gross: $5,850/mo
- Appraised value: $885,000 post-furnish + lease history
- DSCR refi at 74% LTV: $654,900 @ 8.85% — ratio ~1.12 with 6-month MTR history
- Hard money retired: month 10 — acquisition on hard money DC at 10.75% IO
Split rent roll — MTR unit documented separately from basement long-term lease. Rent control applies to basement LTR unit — rent control guide.
MTR vs LTR DSCR comparison — same Capitol Hill asset
| Metric | Long-term hold | MTR furnished |
|---|---|---|
| Upper unit rent | $2,800/mo | $4,100/mo |
| Basement rent | $1,750/mo | $1,750/mo |
| Total gross | $4,550/mo | $5,850/mo |
| Furnish cost | $0 | $35,000 |
| DSCR @ 72% LTV | ~1.04 — thin | ~1.12 — clears |
| Management intensity | Low | Moderate — turnover every 45 days |
| Compliance | Rent control on basement | MTR lease structure + STR cap avoidance |
Financing stack
- Acquire on hard money DC — 8.99%–13.5% IO
- Furnish + build booking history — executed 30+ day leases preferred; 6-month lookback for refi
- Refi on DSCR DC or cash-out DC — 5.75%–10.5%
Transfer tax on buy: recordation guide
DC MTR risks
| Risk | Mitigation |
|---|---|
| STR license confusion | Counsel on MTR vs STR classification |
| 90-night cap violation | Structure as 30+ day lease, not nightly |
| Rent control on basement LTR | Separate compliance — rent control guide |
| Condo restrictions | Many DC condos ban all short stays — read bylaws |
| HP districts | Furnished exterior changes may trigger review |
| Booking history too short | Build 6-month track before refi application |
| Furnish scope overrun | Budget $30K–$45K for quality corporate furnish |
Related
- PadSplit financing DC
- House hacking DC
- DC rent control guide
- Navy Yard DSCR — condo MTR lane
Start your DC MTR file
- Pre-qualify
- Submit refi intent — lease history, licensing status
- Call (833) 264-7776
What the short-term rental statute actually limits
Nightly hosting in the District is a licensed activity with a primary-residence rule. A furnished 30-day stay can be a different contract. Do not treat that sentence as a legal opinion. Read the code, then confirm the booking with counsel and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
D.C. Code § 30-201.01 defines a short-term rental as paid lodging for transient guests in a portion of the host’s home, with the host present, unless the stay is a vacation rental. A vacation rental is the version where the guest has exclusive use and the host is not on site.
Section 30-201.02 adds operating rules:
| Rule | What the code says |
|---|---|
| License | Basic business license plus a short-term rental endorsement. A vacation rental needs its own endorsement. |
| Insurance | At least $500,000 of liability insurance. A booking service may provide it. |
| Primary residence | The property must be the host’s primary residence, defined through homestead eligibility. |
| Multiple rooms | A bedroom and an in-law suite can both be offered, subject to occupancy limits in Titles 11, 12, and 14 of the municipal regulations. |
Section 30-201.06(e) says a short-term rental may operate as a vacation rental for no more than 90 nights in a calendar year, unless the host has an exemption. The host must also keep booking records for two years, post the license inside the unit, and keep smoke and carbon monoxide detectors on habitable floors.
An investor who does not live in the house fails the primary-residence test in the current statute. That is why this guide underwrites furnished leases of 30 days or more, not a second-home calendar of nightly stays. Whether a specific 30-day contract is outside the short-term rental definition is a classification question. Get it in writing before you scale.
A 2026 bill is not yet your underwriting
On March 13, 2026, the Mayor and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection announced the introduction of the Short-Term Rental Regulation Amendment Act of 2026. The release says the bill would let renters host, add a special-event license, and allow a license on a second District property the resident owns. Introduction is not enactment. Do not model a second-home nightly cap, or renter hosting, until you confirm the bill became law.
Voucher rents versus the furnished premium
FY 2027 Small Area Fair Market Rents are voucher benchmarks, not corporate lease quotes. They show which corridors already have a high gross-rent marker before you add furniture.
From the District of Columbia FY 2027 table:
| ZIP | Corridor | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20003 | Capitol Hill | $3,310 | $3,660 |
| 20002 | Hill east | $2,590 | $2,870 |
| 20024 | Navy Yard | $2,660 | $2,940 |
| 20009 | Shaw / Dupont edge | $3,310 | $3,660 |
| 20011 | Petworth | $1,990 | $2,200 |
The worked example’s $4,100 upper-unit mid-term rent is above ZIP 20003’s $3,660 two-bedroom voucher rent. That gap is the furnish and turnover premium. An appraiser may still anchor the rent schedule closer to long-term comps. Bring executed 30-day-or-longer leases, not a screenshot of a nightly rate, when you apply for the DSCR refinance.
Deed tax on the $595,000 example
Section 42-1103 sets recordation at 1.1%, plus 0.35% when a residential deed is not under $400,000. Section 47-903 sets the same pair of rates for the transfer tax, which is imposed on the transferor. On $595,000, each side is $8,627.50. Combined deed tax is $17,255, or 2.9%. The older 2.2% shorthand understated this purchase. The transferor is liable for the transfer tax. The buyer is jointly liable if that tax goes unpaid.
The FHFA all-transactions index for the District was 1,037.72 on April 1, 2026, versus 1,043.93 a year earlier. Prices were slightly softer. The mid-term premium has to come from leases and furnishings, not from a rising index.
How the two loans are timed
Buy the row on hard money at 8.99%–13.5% interest-only. A complete acquisition file can close in 7–10 business days. Furnish the upper unit, sign leases of at least 30 days, and keep six months of that history if the refinance will rely on it. The DSCR loan, at 5.75%–10.5%, closes in about 14 business days on a complete file. Do not tell the seller the refinance date is the purchase date.
Condo projects still die in the bylaws. If the declaration bans stays under a year, a 45-day corporate lease is not a workaround. Read the declaration before you buy furniture.
Send the lease file and the license status through the refinance form, or call (833) 264-7776.
DC mid-term rental — 90-night cap + MTR file gates (2026)
DC MTR files fail when nightly STR is run without license under 90-night cap, or condo bylaws ban sub-30-day stays.
- Worked refi: Capitol Hill — $5,850/mo gross (MTR upper + LTR basement) → 74% LTV at 8.85%
- 90-night cap: MTR 30–90 day leases avoid nightly STR enforcement risk
- Corporate demand: Federal contractor · congressional staff · medical rotations
- Acquire: Hard money DC · 8.99%–13.5% IO
Underwriting anchor: Capitol Hill rowhouse — $4,100/mo MTR upper + $1,750/mo basement LTR — build 6-month booking history before DSCR application. MTR DSCR 5.75%–10.5% · (833) 264-7776.
Pre-Qualify for DC MTR Financing · (833) 264-7776
Non-owner occupied investment property only. Rates and terms subject to change.