DC Tenant Rights Organizations Call for Immediate and Urgent Calls to your Councilmembers

​​Friends my attorney who represents me since my former landlord, Van Teasley was murdered in the Domician Republic 3.5 yrs ago sent me this URGENT notification, the first since his firm has represented me so It caught my attention.  If you are a DC resident this is a must read, sneeky DC Council is fast-tracking legislation rolling back tenants' rights - just take a moment to read please.

Tom,
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Please review the following urgent legislative alert, which we and five other tenants’ rights organizations in DC are trying to distribute as broadly as possible. Please feel free to forward or share this. If you do not wish to receive such alerts from us in the future, please reply via e-mail, asking to be removed. Thank you.

Marc Borbely, Esq.
D.C. Tenants’ Rights Center
406 5th St. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20001
http://dcTenants.com
[email protected]
202-681-6871 (ph)
202-640-5117 (fax)

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Calling All D.C. Tenants and Their Friends:

Council leaders are fast-tracking a bill that would constitute the biggest rollback of tenants’ rights in more than a decade. This is being done quietly, behind closed doors, and with only 11 days’ public notice.

For the past 38 years, all tenants in D.C. have had rights if their landlord decides to sell their home. Under the D.C. Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), they have had the right to purchase their home, the right to find a buyer who will let them stay, and the right to give up their rights in exchange for time or money. These options help keep tenants in their home.

Council leaders are pushing a bill that strips these rights from most tenants who live in condos, single-family homes, and attached units such as English basements. (Some who are over 62 or have a disability would keep some limited rights.)

A first vote is scheduled for this Tuesday, March 6.

The real estate community lobbied hard for these proposed changes so they can sell homes faster and without any regard for the people living in those homes.

Don’t let this be a first step toward the elimination of TOPA rights for all tenants.

If you want the Council to preserve tenants’ TOPA rights, ask councilmembers to vote “No” on Bill 22-315, the TOPA Single-Family Home Exemption Amendment Act of 2018.

Respectfully,

D.C. Tenants’ Rights Center
D.C. Tenants’ Advocacy Coalition (TENAC)
Housing Counseling Services
Latino Economic Development Center
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia
Legal Counsel for the Elderly

Phil Mendelson* // Chair // 202-724-8032 // [email protected]

Brianne Nadeau* // Ward 1 // 202-724-8181 // [email protected]

Jack Evans // Ward 2 // 202-724-8058 // [email protected]

Mary Cheh* // Ward 3 // 202-724-8062 // [email protected]

Brandon Todd // Ward 4 // 202-724-8052 // [email protected]

Kenyon McDuffie* // Ward 5 // 202-724-8028 // [email protected]

Charles Allen* // Ward 6 // 202-724-8072 // [email protected]

Vincent Gray // Ward 7 // 202-724-8068 // [email protected]

Trayon White // Ward 8 // 202-724-8045 // [email protected]

Robert White // At large // 202-724-8174 // [email protected]

Anita Bonds* // At large // 202-724-8064 // [email protected]

​David Grosso // At large // 202-724-8105 // [email protected]

​Elissa Silverman* // At large // 202-724-7772 // [email protected]

* up for reelection this year.