Yes, a contract to lease is legally binding in Washington D.C. To be valid, a contract to lease may have to be written, especially for a fixed term over one year. Oral leases may be valid in some cases (especially when both parties later behave as though there’s an enforceable oral lease), but often have strict limitations on enforceability for things like length of the lease term.
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The information for this answer was found on our Washington D.C. Residential Lease Agreement answers.