The District of Columbia Municipal Regulations Chapter 14-3 Section 302, 302.1, and 302.2 allows a tenant the right to void a lease agreement when a rental property is uninhabitable in the following manner:
Voiding Lease for Violation of Regulations
The leasing of any habitation which, at the beginning of the tenancy, is unsafe or unsanitary due to violations of this subtitle in that habitation or in the common space of the premises (whether or not those violations are the subject of a notice issued under this subtitle) of which the owner has knowledge or reasonably should have knowledge, shall render void the lease or rental agreement for the habitation.
After the beginning of the tenancy, if the habitation becomes unsafe or unsanitary due to violations of this subtitle in that habitation or in the common space of the premises (whether or not the violations are the subject of a notice issued under this subtitle), the lease or rental agreement for the habitation shall be rendered void if both of the following apply:
(a) The violations did not result from the intentional acts or negligence of the tenant or his or her invitees; and
(b) The violations are not corrected within the time allowed for correction under a notice issued under this subtitle (or, if a notice has not been issued, within a reasonable time after the owner has knowledge or reasonably should have knowledge of the violations).
DCMR § 14–302, 302.1, and 302.2.