The DC Council held its first vote on the RENTAL Act on Monday, July 28, passing it 10-2. Council Members Brianne Nadeau (Ward 1) and Janeese Lewis George (Ward 4) were the only Council members to vote against the legislation. Among many concerning provisions, the RENTAL Act as passed:

• Shortens the eviction timeline, reducing the prefiling notice period for nonpayment cases from 30 to 10 days and reduces the hearing summons period from 30 to 14 days.

• Exempts newly constructed buildings from TOPA for 15 years.

• Exempts buildings from TOPA where buyers commit to an affordability covenant that keeps most of the rents affordable to people who make up to 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). Not only is this provision insufficient to keep housing affordable for working-class Washingtonians--a two-bedroom unit at 80 percent AMI is about $2,430 per month--many rent-controlled buildings in the City already meet this criteria. This means that tenants in rent-controlled buildings would lose their leverage under TOPA to negotiate for improvements to building conditions.

Despite the setback at this week’s Council meeting, the fight is not over and we have not yet lost. A second vote in September still gives us time to further organize and continue pushing select councilmembers to amend the RENTAL Act and its anti-tenant policies out of the budget. The fight to amend the bill during the second vote is not an easy demand, and an uphill battle for sure, but we face the greatest loss of tenant rights in the District in a generation. The rollback of TOPA aims not just to limit the tenants who can use it or what issues can be bargained over, but to create so many loopholes and restrictions that to exercise TOPA rights becomes effectively impossible.

Then, use this form to send a letter to all of the DC Council urging them to oppose the RENTAL Act and save TOPA!

What is TOPA? The Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA, gives tenants a seat at the table when the landlord puts their apartment building up for sale. DC tenants have had this unique right since the 1970s. It has successfully preserved affordability for thousands of households—whether by tenants buying the building and turning it into a co-op, assigning their purchase rights to an nonprofit, or collectively bargaining with a new landlord for improved conditions or amenities.

What’s at stake? Developers have quietly pushed TOPA exemptions through the budget process before and have lobbied against TOPA for decades. Tenants of single-family homes were exempted from TOPA in 2018. Tenants in office-to-residential conversions downtown were also exempted in 2022 for a period of ten years. Research shows that TOPA preserves affordability in DC. As rents rise and our region faces economic uncertainty with mass layoffs of federal workers, this is the worst time to let developers get away with stripping us of tenant autonomy.

What can you do? Join us in defending TOPA! We know that TOPA works when it is fully funded and safe from developer attacks. We are pushing the DC Council to reject the RENTAL Act, restore TOPA rights to those who have lost them, and ensure TOPA is funded. We are calling on DC residents and tenants in buildings across DC to send a letter to CM White opposing the RENTAL Act and to get involved in the campaign. Get YOUR tenant association to sign onto this campaign to defend tenants rights in DC! Email tenants@mdcdsa.org if you're interested in canvassing your building in support of TOPA.