Category Archives: TOPA

July Real Estate Update | Margaret Williams v. James Kennedy | Jane Robinson, Trustee v. Nels Nordquist

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Virginia have recently issued decisions which are significant for those in the real estate industry. Washington, D.C. On July 11, 2019, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued its decision in Margaret Williams v. James Kennedy regarding intra-owner transfers within the context of the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act ... Read More

Housing Licensing and TOPA in the District of Columbia

Recent changes to the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) in the District of Columbia have had broad repercussions in the single-family rental market. Since TOPA’s inception, the competing purposes of maintaining a rental market and encouraging tenants to leave the rental market and become homeowners have resulted in a structure that is difficult to follow and has ... Read More

D.C. Court of Appeals: TOPA Extensions Must Be Defined To Preserve Tenant Rights

In an important new ruling construing the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (“TOPA”), the D.C. Court of Appeals held on September 23, 2015, that extensions of the deadlines for a seller and a tenant association to negotiate a sales contract must be express and contain a definite end-date to ... Read More