The District of Columbia is both an international hub for tourism and short-term residency and an innately temporary stomping ground for populations that come and go with each election cycle. With this in mind, a DC property manager has to juggle not only the everyday demands of property management—rent collection, tenant screening, and property maintenance, for example—but also the unique needs of this thriving, diverse, and continuously popular place to call home.

This six-hour course provides an introduction into property management basics by covering topics such as licensure requirements and the rights and responsibilities of DC landlords and tenants, as well as issues surrounding fair housing and human rights. It also includes a rundown of District-specific initiatives, laws, and practices that a property manager needs to be effective and proactive in the nation’s capital.

Course highlights include:

• Property management definitions
• Licensure, exemptions to licensure, role, and fiduciary duties of the DC property manager
• Managing common interest communities and community associations
• Reporting and record keeping requirements
• Fair housing, human rights, and property management
• DOPA, TOPA, and HOPA
• Technology and data security
• DC sustainability practices and initiatives
• Historic preservation
• Inclusionary zoning
• Capital improvements

From an ever-rotating lineup of government servants, to millions of annual visitors, to generations’ worth of lifelong residents, you’ve chosen to serve a truly unique population by practicing real estate in the District of Columbia. It’s the DC Council’s job to serve those diverse populations by creating legislation designed to preserve the District’s historic nature, propel the city into the future, and protect DC’s residents—and it’s your job to keep up with the laws that impact those residents.

This three-hour course provides an in-depth examination of laws in two areas particularly important in DC: affordable housing and rental-related laws. We’ll also explore recent amendments to foundational legislation, as well as new laws that have been introduced to ensure the protection, empowerment, and prosperity of DC residents. Knowledge of these laws is key to your success in serving clients, customers, and the public as an informed real estate licensee.

Course highlights include:

• Affordable housing protections
• Rent control
• Vacant and blighted property issues
• Landlord and tenant protections
• Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act
• District Opportunity to Purchase Act
• Environmentally conscious legislation
• Other notable legislation licensees need to know about

Every year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HUD investigates complaints of housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, along with its partners in the Fair Housing Assistance Program, investigate approximately 10,000 housing discrimination complaints every year. 

This three-hour course reviews the federal fair housing laws and the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977, discusses the protected classes and traits under each, and examines the numerous activities that constitute unlawful discriminatory acts in housing. This course meets the District of Columbia's mandatory requirement for CE on Fair Housing topics.       

Course highlights include:

• A review of the federal Fair Housing Act and related federal laws that prohibit discrimination in housing based on the seven protected classes of race, color, national origin, religion, disability, familial status, and sex.  
• A review of the D.C. Human Rights Act of 1977 and related regulations that prohibit discrimination in housing based on 18 protected traits, including race, color, national origin, religion, disability, familial status, family responsibilities, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, political affiliation, source of income, matriculation, place (of home or business), status as a victim of an intrafamily offense, marital status, age, and personal appearance.
• A look at actual fair housing case studies from across the United States.
• A detailed discussion regarding unlawful discriminatory acts, and acceptable and unacceptable wording in advertisements and other communications.
• A look at the federal and D.C. processes for filing fair housing complaints, including the applicable penalties for federal and D.C. violations.
• Activities and examples to seal in the new information and frame it in everyday context

As a real estate professional, you’re likely to encounter unexpected ethical dilemmas as you go about your daily business. That’s why the National Association of REALTORS® provides its members with a regularly updated Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice.  Adopted in 1913, the Code consists of 17 Articles and supporting Standards of Practice that provide ethical principles for dealing with clients and customers, the public at large, and other REALTORS®.  Of course, knowing those guidelines and understanding how to efficiently put them into practice can be two different matters. 

Enter DC Ethics, aligned to the requirements of the current NAR cycle. In this course, you’ll review each Article, gain insight into recent changes, and discover important takeaway points you can apply to your day-to-day business dealings to ensure you’re always ethical in your business practices. Plus, you’ll walk through real-life scenarios designed to hone your ethical instincts.

In addition, you will review ethics that are particular to the District of Columbia, starting at the top with the DC Real Estate Commission and working through to the nuts and bolts of managing transactions in DC from an ethical perspective.

Course highlights include:

• A review of recent revisions and additions to the Code of Ethics
• Tips for applying the Code’s principles and guidelines to your practice
• A discussion on the benefits of mediation
• The scope of practice for each sales professional type
• Ethics at the district level
• Activities and examples to illustrate the practical application of the new information and frame it in everyday context

*This course was designed by The CE Shop to meet the REALTOR® Code of Ethics Training Requirement. Please confirm that your local association, who administers the Code of Ethics training, will accept this course.