AFRO Staff Writer
The D.C. Council revisited two key pieces of legislation during its Oct. 21 additional meeting, tightening the language of the recently passed Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants, and Landlords (RENTAL) Act. The legislation aims to balance the District’s tenant protections with the need to improve housing production amid decline.
The RENTAL Act makes changes to eviction protocols, tenant protections and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), which is credited with helping relieve housing inequity in D.C. TOPA gives tenants the first opportunity to buy the property they live in when the owner decides to sell, allowing them to stay in their homes instead of being displaced by new owners.
TOPA was created in 1980, a time when few new rental units were being built and many rental buildings were being converted into individually owned condos. These conversions often pushed out existing tenants and reduced affordable housing. Since then, TOPA rights in D.C. have expanded in many ways, including allowing tenants to transfer their purchase rights to housing providers, helping units remain available as rental housing…