Exclusive only to the District of Columbia when a seller goes to sell a tenant occupied property the seller must comply with the TOPA provisions. TOPA requires giving the tenant both an Offer of Sale and a Right of First Refusal. Very specific mailing requirements, deadlines and content are required for these documents and they are also specific to the size of the housing accommodation; single family, 2-4 units or over 5 units.
A seller typically seeks either the guidance of their experienced real estate agent or our office on fulfilling the requirements to be TOPA compliant.
The forms, to be delivered in both English and Spanish, are listed in this chart and available on the DC Housing and Community Development website.
| Form Title | PDF Files | |
| Offer of Sale With a Third Party Contract – Single Rental Unit | [English] | [En Español] |
| Offer of Sale Without a Third Party Contract – Single Rental Unit | [English] | [En Español] |
| Right of First Refusal – Single Rental Unit | [English] | [En Español] |
| Offer of Sale With a Third Party Contract – 2-4 Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Offer of Sale Without a Third Party Contract – 2-4 Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Right of First Refusal – 2-4 Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Offer of Sale With a Third Party Contract – 5 or More Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Offer of Sale Without a Third Party Contract – 5 or More Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Right of First Refusal – 5 or More Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Notice of Transfer – Single Rental Unit | [English] | [En Español] |
| Notice of Transfer – 2-4 Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
| Notice of Transfer – 5 or More Rental Units | [English] | [En Español] |
The law and how it is interpreted varies. You will likely get conflicting advice when asking various experts their opinion. For example, the law says compliance is required only on a property that is tenant occupied at the time the property is listed for sale while the title insurers, who are guaranteeing title, require that the requirements of the law be followed for any tenant in the property in the last 12 months prior to the property being listed for sale. This is to assure that there are no opportunities for a claim against title from a former tenant saying their TOPA rights were violated. A form called a tenant affidavit, approved by the majority of title insurers operating in DC needs to be signed and notarized for each tenant of the property. The definition of “tenants” is broadly construed under this law.
The following is a broad-brushed outline of a typical TOPA scenario for a single unit property. It does not include all requirements and the steps and timeframes vary depending upon whether or not the Offer of Sale is given with or without the 3rd party Contract of Sale.
