DC’s DOB Just Got More Power. That’s a Good Thing.

By J. Andrew Steele, CEO, Steele Foundation

For years, revising Washington, DC’s construction codes meant waiting on a separate body that met quarterly and, some years, accomplished little. Now that’s changing. The District has authorized the Department of Buildings to take direct responsibility for construction code revisions. For anyone building, developing, or owning property in DC, this is worth paying attention to.

DOB’s internal committee is already at work. Suggested revisions are expected this fall, followed by a public comment period before anything is formally adopted. It’s a longer process, by design. Changes like this don’t take effect overnight and the full impact of any revision is likely two years out. But the shift in authority itself is the real news. It puts code revisions in the hands of people who understand the day-to-day realities of construction in the District, including the Chief Building Official and DOB leadership, rather than a separate entity operating at arm’s length from the work.

The issue that matters most: adjacent construction

Ask anyone who has watched a foundation project unfold next door, and they’ll tell you that party walls are an issue. Party wall and adjacent construction protections are, by a wide margin, the most pressing local code concern in DC. It’s a challenge shared by cities like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. The core tension is straightforward: property owners have every right to build and redevelop; and their neighbors have every right to be protected from damage while that happens.

The codes have tried to address this. Enforcement has been the trouble spot. Having worked adjacent construction projects for decades, I know what happens when that gap goes unaddressed: real damage to real homes, and real frustration from owners who did nothing wrong. DOB understands this. In fact, some of the more promising developments come from looking outside DC’s own borders. New York State’s building code has made recent moves on this same issue, and that work has already been shared with DOB as part of their review.

A patchwork of licensing and a case for rigor

One thing that becomes clear working across jurisdictions is how differently they each treat contractor licensing. In DC, registering a company and obtaining a contracting license is a straightforward, low-barrier process. In Virginia, it’s considerably more rigorous: testing requirements, insurance and workers’ comp verification, and real consequences for contractors who violate the rules.

That rigor is worth championing. A licensing structure with teeth protects residents from unqualified or bad-faith actors, and it protects the professionals in this industry who do the work right. It also happens to be more achievable now than it once was. Verifying insurance certificates, cross-referencing violations, and flagging bad actors used to require an army of inspectors DC simply doesn’t have. Modern tracking tools make that kind of oversight far more realistic today.

Reason for optimism

Consolidating code authority under DOB is a meaningful step in the right direction. It puts revisions in capable hands. It’s already drawing on lessons from other jurisdictions, and it opens the door to stronger, more enforceable protections for adjacent property owners. The construction industry in DC has real momentum toward accountability, and that’s good news for owners, developers, and the contractors who take the work seriously.

When DOB releases its suggested revisions this fall, I’d encourage everyone in our network—owners, GCs, architects, and engineers alike—to review them and weigh in during the comment period. This is a rare chance to help shape the rules that will govern how we build in the District for years to come.