D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, formed in 1983, has been tasked over the years with a wide range of responsibilities: issuing construction permits and business licenses, inspecting reports of housing code violations and ensuring the city’s buildings are up to code, to name a few.
But as of Saturday, after years of critiques from residents who said the department had fallen short in some of its assigned duties, the agency long known as DCRA will no longer exist. It is being split into two separate entities: the Department of Buildings (DOB) and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP); the former agency will focus on building inspections, zoning administration and code compliance, and the latter will crack down on unlawful businesses and issue licenses.
City lawmakers say the transition, which was approved by the D.C. Council over repeated protests from Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D), will streamline services by dividing responsibilities between two smaller, easier-to-manage agencies.
