Happy Independence Week to our readers. 249 years after our great country declared its independence, will some multifamily owners and investors soon be free from TOPA?
We plan to circulate a full multifamily update later this month, but we wanted to provide this interim update. Our recent Alerts (June 3, 2025 | June 12, 2025) addressed topics such as BEPS, rent control, and PILOTs; this Alert focuses on several pending TOPA reform proposals in DC, as well as the new Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights.
D.C. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) Reform Proposals. As discussed in prior Alerts as well as several trade publications, TOPA has significantly discouraged investment in housing in D.C., including affordable housing. Because of this, Mayor Bowser recently proposed the Rebalancing Expectations for Neighbors, Tenants and Landlords (RENTAL) Act (B26-0164). The RENTAL Act would exempt sales of buildings constructed or substantially improved within the last 25 years, if at least 51 percent of the units have rents at or above 80 percent of the area median income (AMI). It would also exempt properties subject to recorded affordability covenants that require at least 50 percent of the units to be rented at a rate affordable to households earning at or below 80 percent AMI for a period of at least 20 years.
The RENTAL Act was included in the Budget Support Act (BSA), an omnibus bill that is required to be passed with the budget. This appeared to have been done to facilitate the prompt consideration and enactment of the RENTAL Act.
Competing with the RENTAL Act is the Common Sense TOPA Reform Amendment (CSTRA) Act, introduced by Councilmember Nadeau (Nadeau Proposal). It limits the TOPA exemption to three years.
We now understand Councilmember White may propose legislation or amendments that would limit the TOPA exemption to 15 years, but this would be a blanket exemption, with no market rate stipulations. While the specifics of White’s proposal are still unknown, Councilmember White has gone on record saying that he supports a blanket 15-year exemption, rather than the three-year blanket exemption under the CSTRA Act, or the AMI-based 25-year exemption under the RENTAL Act. Councilmember White’s full statement can be found here.
To provide a sense of the potential differing impact of the Mayor’s proposal and White’s proposal, if the RENTAL Act is passed in its current form, then an estimated 207 properties would continue to be exempt from TOPA in 2040. On the other hand, if a shorter 15-year exemption is passed, then no more than 49 properties would be exempt from TOPA in 2040 (based on projects currently or anticipated to be under construction). Is a 15-year exemption sufficient to provide investment incentives to those who have previously exited the D.C. market due to the costs, delays, and uncertainty of TOPA? If the intent of the RENTAL Act and other TOPA reform proposals is to stimulate housing investment in the District, then any proposal that results in fewer exempt properties may not achieve that goal.
For stakeholders interested in joining or learning more about ongoing efforts to reform TOPA, DCBIA is having a virtual briefing on July 8, 2025, which may include remaining opportunities for advocacy. You can click here to RSVP. We also understand that the D.C. Council has scheduled its first vote on the RENTAL Act for Monday, July 14, 2025, as Councilmember White has stated his intent to pass TOPA legislation by summer recess.
Maryland Tenant Bill of Rights. During its 2024 session, the Maryland State Legislature passed the Renters’ Rights and Stabilization Act of 2024 (Act), which included a requirement that a Tenants’ Bill of Rights be included in all leases. The Act also created a new statewide Office of Landlord Tenant Affairs, which is responsible for publishing the Tenants’ Bill of Rights on June 1 of each year. On June 16, 2025, the Office of Landlord Tenant Affairs published the first Maryland Tenants’ Bill of Rights, a copy of which must be included with all residential leases effective July 1, 2025.
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