DC: if unit is permitted as a studio, can you rent it as a 1 br?

[John S.]

Hello Washington DC gurus, I have a studio condo in the district and am adding a wall to the unit so that it now is a 1 br. The thing is that it just barely misses the official 1 br definition - part of it is less than 7 feet wide (while other parts are more than 7 feet wide). I plan to keep it officially permitted as a studio, but want to advertise it as a 1 br on craigslist.

Question: if the renter sees it and likes it, starts to live in it, but then doesn't pay rent, does he/she have a right to not pay rent because it's officially permitted as a studio? In other words, will it be hard to evict him/her because of the way the unit was originally advertised?

Thanks,
John

[Elizabeth Nourse]

Thanks @Brandon L.  @John S. called today and I gave him some advice and things to consider.  :)