Except as provided in §§ 3203.7, 3203.8, 3203.9, or the second sentence of this subsection, no person shall use any structure, land, or part of any structure or land for any purpose until a certificate of occupancy has been issued to that person stating that the use complies with the provisions of this title and the D.C. Construction Code, Title 12 DCMR. The requirements of this subsection shall not apply to:
Certificates of occupancy shall not be required for separate apartments or bachelor apartments in an apartment house, tenements or apartments in a tenement house, or offices in an office building, if a certificate of occupancy is issued for the entire structure.
Except in the case of a church, all certificates of occupancy shall be conspicuously posted in or upon the premises to which they apply so that they may be seen readily by anyone entering the premises.
If the erection or alteration of a structure is contemplated, a certificate of occupancy for that structure shall not be issued until the erection or alteration is completed to the point of availability of occupancy for use, except as provided in § 3203.5.
Where an alteration to a structure is required by law in order to effect compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to the Means of Egress Law, approved December 24, 1942 (56 Stat. 1083, as amended; D.C. Official Code §§ 6-703.03 to 6-703.09 (2001)(formerly codified at D.C. Code §§ 5-518 to 5-524 (1994 Repl.))), a certificate of occupancy for that structure may be issued prior to the alteration; Provided, that the use of the structure for which a certificate of occupancy is desired, if a new use, is not one that would require a greater amount of egress or fire protection facilities under the Means of Egress Law than is required for the use existing prior to the alteration.
Any certificate of occupancy issued under the terms of §§ 3203.4 or 3203.5 shall be subject to compliance with regulations adopted pursuant to the Means of Egress Law.
If an application for a certificate of occupancy is filed when the Zoning Commission has pending before it a proceeding to consider an amendment of the zone district classification of the site of the proposed use, the processing of the application, and the establishment of the occupancy, shall be governed as follows:
Any use that is authorized by a certificate of occupancy may be established and continued pursuant to the terms of the certificate and the provisions of this title in effect on the date that the certificate is issued, subject to the following conditions:
Applications for certificates of occupancy authorized by orders of the Board of Zoning Adjustment may be processed in accordance with the Zoning Regulations in effect on the date the orders were promulgated; provided, that all applications for certificates of occupancy shall be accompanied by information sufficiently complete to permit processing without substantial change or deviation.
Certificates of occupancy issued in accordance with §§ 3203.7, 3203.8, or 3203.9 shall not be renewable if permitted to lapse unless processed in accordance with all provisions of this title.
This subsection shall govern the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the use of a structure, or part thereof, if the establishment of the use is dependent upon the erection, construction, conversion, or alteration of the structure, or part thereof; provided:
An Electronic Equipment Facility (EEF) that occupied at least fifty percent (50%) of the gross floor area of the space owned or leased within a building by the EEF for EEF use on October 16, 2000, pursuant to a valid certificate of occupancy, but for which a building permit or certificate of occupancy has not yet been issued for the entire owned or leased space, shall be permitted to complete construction and occupancy within the entire owned or leased space as a matter-of-right, provided that the use is registered with the Zoning Administrator within ninety (90) days after the effective date of this section.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 11, r. 11-3203