The famous rowhouse on C Street SE where disgraced South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford sought counseling after his affair -- as did Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) after his affair -- has begun paying D.C. real estate taxes, according to city officials.

Several members of the House and Senate live there, renting upstairs rooms from a group apparently affiliated with the "Fellowship," a secretive group that organizes the National Prayer Breakfast. Ensign, who recently moved out, lived in the tidy brick home. Sanford, when he was a member of Congress, used to come by for what he called "a Christian Bible study."

The Capitol Hill house is valued at $1.8 million. The downstairs is used for meals and prayer meetings, while the upstairs houses residents that recently included three House members as well as Ensign and Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), our colleague Manuel Roig-Franzia reported in June.

It was there that Coburn, an obstetrician and gynecologist, met with Ensign's friend and former top aide, Doug Hampton, the husband of Ensign's mistress, for an emotional chat about forgiveness. Coburn reportedly advised Ensign to stop the affair but has said he would never reveal the details of those discussions, citing his religious privilege as an "ordained deacon" and his medical privilege as Ensign's OB-GYN.

This summer, the tax records show, the house paid no taxes because it received an E1, or religious, exemption. It was coded "89-Special Purpose-Misc," and it was classified for tax purposes as a commercial property. The owner, according to tax records, remains the same, "Youth With A Mission Washington DC Inc C St. Center." But that group says the property was transferred 20 years ago to C Street Center Inc. after YWAM concluded its activities in the city.

The property now is classified "TX-Taxable" and is listed as a residential property. The current property records also show that there was a tax payment of $1,714.70 on Oct. 21. The records page notes that "Only payments received on or after Jan. 14, 2005 are displayed on this page," so this may be the first tax payment.

It appears that, sometime after The Washington Post's article on the house, the city took a look at the situation. "The property in question was inspected by our office," a city official told our colleague Nikita Stewart, "and it was determined that portions are being rented to private individuals for residential purposes. As a result, the exemption was partially revoked and adjusted so that only 34 percent is now tax-exempt and 66 percent has become taxable."

The property "went 66 percent taxable Aug. 1," the official said, and the full taxable bill for 2010 will be $10,234. Now, maybe if the lawmakers would stop paying rent, then the property would be fully tax-exempt. Of course, then the members would be questioned about accepting free accommodations.