MURIEL BOWSER
MAYOR
January 4, 2024
The Honorable Phil Mendelson
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia John A.
Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 504
Washington, DC 20004
Enclosed for consideration and enactment by the Council of the District of Columbia are bills
entitled the “Protecting Adjacent and Adjoining Property Owners from Construction
Damage Amendment Act of 2024,” the “Protecting Adjacent and Adjoining Property
Owners from Construction
Damage Temporary Amendment Act of 2024,” and “the
Protecting Adjacent and Adjoining Property Owners from Construction Damage
Emergency Amendment Act of 2024.” In addition, an accompanying “Protecting Adjacent
and Adjoining Property Owners from Construction Damage Emergency Declaration Resolution
of 202
4” is included in this transmittal.
These legislative measures would amend section 6a(a) of the Construction Codes Approval
and Amendments Act of 1986, effective April 20, 199 9 (D.C. Law 12-261 ; D.C. Official
Code § 6-1405.01(a)), which requires insurance coverage for certain building permits, by
adding three types of permits to the current scope of the requirement. Specifically, the
additional permits would include: (1) alteration and repair permits pursuant to which the
applicant will be engaging in underpinning or related construction activity; (2) foundation
permits; and (3) new building permits. This legislation will also clarify legislative
requirements to allow the Department of Buildings (DOB) to promulgate rulemaking.
I urge the Council to take prompt and favorable action on the enclosed legislation. If you
have any questions, please contact Brian Hanlon, Director, DOB, at brian.hanlon@dc.gov or
(202)442-8935.
Sincerely,
Muriel Bowser
Enclosures 1
2
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13
A PROPOSED RESOLUTION
hairman Phil Mendelson
at the request
of the Mayor
IN THE COUNCIL
OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
14 To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend section 6a of the
15 Construction Codes Approval and Amendments Act of 1986 to require a property owner,
16 contractor, or person applying for certain permits for construction work to demonstrate
17 that the person's insurance covers adjacent and adjoining property owners for loss or
18 damage that arises out of the proposed construction work.
19 RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
20 resolution may
be cited as the "Protecting Adjacent and Adjoining Property Owners
21 from Construction Damage Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2024".
22 Sec.
2. (a) The Protecting Adjacent and Adjoining Property Owners from Construction
23 Damage Amendment Act of 2022, effective March 22, 2023 (D.C. Law 24-339; 70 DCR 1575
24 ("2022 Act"), requires property owners, contractors, or persons applying for a permit for
25 construction work to obtain liability insurance that covers adjacent and adjoining property
26 owners for loss or damage arising out
of the proposed work.
27 (b) The requirements under the 2022 Act are tied to specific types
of construction permits
28 issued by the Department of Buildings. However, following the enactment of the 2022 Act, the
29 Department
of Buildings determined that three additional permit types should be included
30 because they involve work that has the greatest potential to cause damage or bodily injury to a
31 neighboring property or property inhabitants.
1 2
(c) The additional permits are: 32
(1) An alteration and repair permit pursuant to which the applicant will be engaged 33
in underpinning or certain other types of construction activity; 34
(2) A foundation permit; and 35
(3) A new building permit. 36
(d) Not including these permit types from the required insurance coverage creates a 37
significant gap in the protection that the original legislation was designed to provide and should 38
be remedied immediately to protect District property owners from significant loss or injury as a 39
result of construction activity occurring at a neighboring property. 40
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 41
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Protecting 42
Adjoining and Adjacent Property Owners from Construction Damage Emergency Amendment Act 43
of 2023 be adopted after a single reading. 44
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 45