Updated September 3, 2026. Quick answer: The debtor’s entire aggregate interest in real property used as their residence is exempt, unlike other paragraphs in the same code section, which do carry explicit dollar caps (for example $2,575 for a motor vehicle).
This is protection against an ordinary money judgment creditor under D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(14), a different question from a property tax bill or exemption, which this page does not cover.
How it works in District of Columbia
- Filing rule not addressed in the cited source. Confirm with a local attorney or your county recorder before relying on this being automatic.
- Married couples and joint owners: Not directly addressed. The exemption is granted to "the head of a family or householder residing in the District of Columbia," without stating whether both spouses/joint owners separately qualify.
What it does not protect against
A deed of trust, mortgage, mechanic’s lien, or tax lien on the property is explicitly not impaired by the exemption.
Read it yourself
Verbatim from D.C. Code § 15-501(a)(14): “the debtor’s aggregate interest in real property used as the residence of the debtor, or property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor in a cooperative that owns property that the debtor or a dependent of the debtor uses as a residence, or in a burial plot for the debtor or dependent of the debtor, except nothing relative to these exemptions shall impair the following debt instruments on real property: deed of trust, mortgage, mechanic’s lien, or tax lien.” Read the full official text before relying on any figure here. Exemption law is fact-specific, and this is a source-backed planning guide, not individualized legal advice.