Council passes Nadeau’s amendment with major wins for TOPA rights, then undermines it with massive exemption for thousands of buildings.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—I am deeply disappointed that after a major win on tenant rights today, in the end I was compelled to vote against the RENTAL Act because of an 11th hour amendment that threatens the future of the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act.
TOPA is about much more than tenant purchases, and more than just affordability. Between 2006 and 2020, more than 19,000 families were able to successfully negotiate during the sale of their buildings. While some of those negotiations resulted in tenant purchases, TOPA is about giving tenants the power to negotiate for what they need – whether it is becoming homeowners or being able to stay in their rental unit, improved conditions, or moving out with the resources to move into another home of their dreams, not one of last resort.
Today, the Council supported an amendment put forward by me, Councilmember Lewis George, and Chairman Mendelson that is a major win for tenant rights and the District’s housing ecosystem. It will make transactions predictable, encourage new investment in the District’s housing market, and preserve tenants’ ability to negotiate. Without this amendment, TOPA would have been gutted beyond repair.
Although I am proud of that work, and thank my colleagues for supporting this critical measure, I am dismayed by the vote that soon followed, allowing an exemption for buildings with two to four units – arguably the largest change made to TOPA in decades. It was done in less than 24 hours, without a public hearing, and literally written on the dais.
This last-minute change will have huge implications for tenants around this city, excluding potentially thousands of tenants from TOPA. Tenants will lose the right to be a part of decisions made about their homes without having any chance to weigh in.
It will also be impossible to enforce. It is predicated on the District having accurate information about who owns homes across the city. As the Chairperson of the Committee on Public Works and Operations, which oversees DLCP, I know first-hand how often these disclosures are incorrect, and that property owners with multiple buildings will still easily be able to get around this, regardless of how well intentioned.
I am prepared to keep fighting.