Does your tenant have a right to buy?
DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) used to give almost every tenant the first chance to buy their home. In 2018 the Council carved out single-family accommodations: one house (attached or detached, with or without one accessory unit) or a single rental unit in a condo, co-op, or HOA. If you’re selling one rented rowhouse, one rented condo, or a house with an English basement unit, that’s you.
For those properties, TOPA purchase rights now belong only to a tenant who meets all three of these:
- is 62 or older, or has a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act,
- signed a written lease on or before March 31, 2018, and
- took occupancy on or before April 15, 2018.
Everyone else keeps their lease and their tenant protections, but not a right to purchase. Buildings with two or more rental units follow different TOPA rules, which the RENTAL Act changed again as of December 31, 2025 — that’s a separate conversation with your attorney.
| Step | Who it applies to | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Written notice to the tenant of a potential sale | Every owner of a rented single-family home or condo unit | Within 3 calendar days of soliciting or receiving a written offer; good for one year for that tenant |
| Copy of the notice to the District (DHCD) | Same | Within 10 days |
| Optional notice of intent to sell (status check) | Owners who want an early answer on eligibility | Up to 60 days before an offer of sale; tenant has 20 days to claim elderly or disability status or the claim is waived |
| Statement of interest | Eligible tenants only | 20 days after the offer of sale |
| Negotiation | Eligible tenants only | At least 25 days |
| Financing | Eligible tenants only | At least 45 days after contracting, longer with lender documentation |
Notices go by first-class or certified mail, a tracked delivery service, or hand delivery. The practical takeaway: the notice is not optional even when your tenant has no purchase right, and expect your title company or settlement attorney to ask for proof you sent it. If your tenant might qualify, the optional status check can settle the question before you list instead of after you have a buyer.
What a tenant-occupied sale costs you
We pulled every DC closed sale from Bright MLS for September 2025 through August 2026 — 6,025 homes — and flagged the 112 (about 2%) that were listed with a tenant in place or with TOPA noted in the listing. They sold on different terms than vacant or owner-occupied homes:
| Houses — tenant in place | Houses — all others | Condos & co-ops — tenant in place | Condos & co-ops — all others | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 70 | 3,427 | 42 | 2,486 |
| Median days on market | 26 | 18 | 44 | 34 |
| Median sale price vs. original list | 95.9% | 98.2% | 96.1% | 97.0% |
| Sold at or above original list | 31% | 42% | 24% | 29% |
| Cash purchases | 30% | 21% | 33% | 30% |
On a house, a gap of a little over two points against list is about $20,000 on a $900,000 rowhouse. The pattern is the one we see in showings: limited access windows, a tenant’s furniture instead of staging, and a buyer pool that tilts toward investors paying cash. The samples are small, so read them as direction, not a forecast for your home.
