District of Columbia: some chimney work needs a state license. Here's what that means.

DC BREAKS the license⇄disclosure inverse correlation — decisively, in the both-strong corner. The inverse rule says real licensing predicts weak disclosure and vice versa; DC has real licensing (a bonded HIC credential triggered at a trivially low $300 — the anti-Southern threshold, where Southern states gate licensing at $2,500–$50,000 floors, DC's floor is a service call) and a mandatory seller-disclosure statute whose prescribed form not only names chimneys and flues but asks when they were last serviced — arguably the most chimney-literate disclosure form in the project. As an urban regulatory jurisdiction it lands where Illinois-adjacent "everything on" regimes live, not on the Southern 3-5 split, and it adds a weapon no state matches: the 16 DCMR § 800.1 disgorgement rule, under which an unlicensed contractor who accepts any payment before full completion holds a void contract and must return every dollar — paired with a CPPA paying treble or $1,500 per violation plus fees to private plaintiffs and an OAG that actually sues home-improvement firms. The sub-layer unique to DC is spatial, not statutory: blanket historic districts over the rowhouse core mean even permit-exempt exterior chimney work needs a permit for HPO review, and shared party-wall stacks complicate ownership. Page messages: check Scout before hiring; never pay an unlicensed contractor a dime up front — in DC that's your money back by law; the seller's disclosure will tell you when the chimney was last serviced (ask why if it's blank); and budget for historic review on street-visible rebuilds.

DC is not a state — it runs its own two-agency regime since the October 2022 split of DCRA into the Department of Buildings (DOB) (permits, inspections, code enforcement — dob.dc.gov) and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) (business/occupational licensing + consumer protection — dlcp.dc.gov). Home-improvement work is licensed by DLCP via a Basic Business License (BBL) with the Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) endorsement, governed by 16 DCMR Chapter 8 (Home Improvements). The trigger is absurdly low: a "home improvement contract" is an agreement for home improvement work in the District with a contract price of $300 or more — and later agreements between the same parties within 12 months aggregate to hit $300 (16 DCMR § 899.1). Requirements per DLCP: $25,000 surety bond, a certificate of liability insurance NOT YET CONFIRMED the "District as additional insured" and 2-year-term details were not re-confirmed Sep 2026, tax registration/Clean Hands, police criminal-history report, a triplicate home improvement contract form, and designation of at least one Home Improvement Salesperson holding a BBL; DLCP lists the HIC fee as $288.20 (dlcp.dc.gov/node/1618836). Agency note: DOB (dob.dc.gov) handles permits/inspections and issues no HIC license; the HIC endorsement is a DLCP license. The teeth are in 16 DCMR § 800.1: an unlicensed person may not "require or accept any payment… in advance of the full completion of all work" — DC courts hold that violating this makes the contract void and unenforceable and forces disgorgement of ALL money paid, including progress payments (Cevern, Inc. v. Ferbish, D.C. 1995 — law.justia.com/cases/district-of-columbia/court-of-appeals/1995/93-cv-216-6.html; bramnickcreed.com/disgorgement-rule/). OAG also treats unlicensed HIC work as a per-se CPPA violation. Lookup: scout.dlcp.dc.gov (Scout — search BBLs by name, number, address, category).

The HIC endorsement attests a bond, insurance, tax clean hands, and paperwork — no trade exam and nothing chimney-specific. Mandatory contract contents (16 DCMR § 808) protect the transaction, not the flue. On the regulation's text, a cleaning-only sweep visit is outside the HIC license: § 899.1 defines "home improvement work" as "the addition to or alteration, conversion, improvement, modernization, remodeling, repair, or replacement of a residential property, or a structure adjacent to the residential property" — cleaning/sweeping is not among the verbs — and it excludes new residential construction, non-attached appliances/furnishings, work by licensed electricians/plumbers/gasfitters/refrigeration-AC mechanics within their license, and owner self-work. (Text read from a 2017 reproduction of 16 DCMR ch. 8; no DLCP interpretation on sweeps located — present as "the regulation's wording," not a ruling.) Any repair, reline, rebuild, crown, or cap replacement at $300+ is squarely in, and a sweep that bundles repair work into the same contract crosses the line. Note the licensed-trades exclusion: gas-appliance/gas-log work by a licensed gasfitter within scope is outside the HIC regime. NCSG / CSIA CCS certs remain the only competence signal; "licensed and bonded" in DC means the $25k BBL bond, nothing more.

Mandatory seller disclosure: D.C. Code Title 42, Chapter 13 (§ 42-1301 et seq.). Sellers of 1–4 unit residential property where the buyer states in writing an intent to reside must deliver a Seller's Disclosure Statement on a Mayor-approved form before or at contract signing (§ 42-1302 — code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/42-1302; form prescribed at 17 DCMR § 2708). NOT YET CONFIRMED UNVERIFIED against an official DC copy — REF mirror only: the form appears to name the hearth directly: it asks whether the property has fireplace(s), chimneys or flues, and when they were last serviced or inspected (eforms.com/images/2021/02/Washington-DC-Sellers-Property-Disclosure-Statement.pdf) — one of the few jurisdictions whose form solicits a service date. Exemptions (§ 42-1301(b)): foreclosures, court-ordered and fiduciary transfers, intra-family transfers, government transfers, and never-inhabited new construction (code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/42-1301). Disclosure is actual-knowledge only; no inspection is mandated — NFPA 211 Level 2 at transfer stays a NATIONAL STANDARD. Co-op share transfers: § 42-1301 applies to "the transfer or sale of real estate … consisting of not less than one nor more than 4 residential dwelling units" and says nothing about cooperative shares — whether a co-op unit sale is covered is not answered by the statute text; UNVERIFIED — do not assert coverage either way.

CPPA, D.C. Code § 28-3901 et seq. Private action under § 28-3905(k)(1) recovers treble damages OR $1,500 per violation, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages, attorney's fees, and injunctive relief (code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/28-3905; oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection/other-consumer-help-agencies-and-websites/submit-consumer-complaint/district-columbia-consumer-protection-laws) — with standing broad enough to include nonprofit and public-interest organizations. Layered on top: DC's own 3-business-day cancel right for home solicitation sales, D.C. Code § 28-3811 (cancel until midnight of the third business day; seller must refund within 10 days and may not keep a cancellation fee — code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/28-3811), mirroring the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR 429). And the § 800.1 disgorgement rule (§ 1) means an unlicensed chimney contractor who takes any deposit forfeits everything. Complaints: OAG Office of Consumer Protection (oag.dc.gov, consumer.protection@dc.gov) and DLCP Consumer Protection Unit (dlcp.dc.gov/consumerprotection) — two doors, both real.

DC OAG is one of the most aggressive UDAP enforcers in the country and has real home-improvement scalps. District of Columbia v. Xquisite Basements & Kitchens, Inc. — OAG sued a contractor and its owner for illegal, shoddy, and abandoned renovation projects plus wage theft, including permits pulled by licensed subs while unlicensed workers did the actual work (oag.dc.gov/release/attorney-general-racine-sues-home-contractor). District of Columbia v. Curbio, Inc. (filed Nov. 2023; consent order Sept. 2024) — CPPA action against the "renovate now, pay at settlement" home-improvement firm over its dealings with homeowners, many elderly (oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2024-09/Curbio-Consent-Order-final.pdf). OAG publishes a standing home-improvement-scam consumer alert (oag.dc.gov/blog/consumer-alert-how-avoid-home-improvement-scams-0). No chimney-specific DC action located — cite the home-improvement docket. Page hook: in DC, the classic "pay half up front" demand from an unlicensed sweep isn't just risky — it voids the contract and entitles the homeowner to every dollar back (§ 1).

Current code set: the 2017 DC Construction Codes — the 2015 ICC family (IBC/IRC/IMC/IPMC) + 2014 NEC, as amended by DCMR Title 12 supplements — effective May 29, 2020 and still in force (dob.dc.gov/page/dc-construction-codes); DOB's code page (checked Sep 15, 2026) still lists the 2017 DC Construction Codes as current and shows no newer cycle in effect. DOB issues permits; chimney relines, rebuilds, and solid-fuel appliance installs are permit work under IRC/IMC provisions, while brick pointing is expressly permit-exempt under § 105.2 (up.codes/s/work-exempted-from-permit). The DC twist: in historic districts, even § 105.2-exempt exterior work requires a building permit so it can route through Historic Preservation Office (HPO) review — and DC's rowhouse core (Capitol Hill, Georgetown, LeDroit Park, Mount Pleasant, dozens more) is blanketed by historic districts. In practice HPO clears in-kind repairs over the counter (~1 day; >95% of applications never reach the HPRB), but a chimney rebuild visible from the street that changes materials or profile can trigger full review (planning.dc.gov/page/building-permits-historic-property). Rowhouse party-wall and shared/adjacent flue questions (who owns the stack, who pays) are a genuine DC issue — legal treatment UNVERIFIED, flag on page as "get it surveyed," not as law.

No DC-specific residential wood-burning emission or curtailment rule was located — DOEE's air rules (20 DCMR) regulate stationary sources, not hearths; absence is the finding. Outdoor open burning is essentially prohibited in the District (FEMS — fems.dc.gov Outdoor Fire Pits and Open Burning guidance), but indoor fireplace use is unrestricted. Energy-code note: DC has required gasketed doors on new wood-burning fireplaces since the 2008 supplement (DOC). Market shape: dense pre-war masonry rowhouses = huge dormant-flue and shared-stack inventory, low active wood-heat share.

D.C. Code § 6-751.01 et seq.: the owner of every new and existing occupied dwelling unit must install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors per the Construction Codes (§ 6-751.02 — code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/6-751.02). The DC Property Maintenance Code (2017) requires CO alarms in all new and existing dwellings with a fossil-fuel appliance, fireplace, or attached garage, outside each sleeping area (dob.dc.gov/node/1616646). With DC's majority-renter housing stock, the landlord duty is the headline: tenants must notify the landlord in writing when a detector needs repair and may not tamper; DOB enforces via Notices of Infraction. No pre-sale CO certificate; a chimney/heating job is the natural verification moment.