Kimberly Driggins, CEO of the Washington Housing Conservancy, penned an op-ed about the importance of TOPA reform and the RENTAL Act in yesterday’s Washington Business Journal. The article is pasted below and can be found online HERE.
DC housing rules are holding nonprofit housing providers back
By Kimberly Driggins
Washington, D.C., is in a housing crisis — and it’s hitting working individuals and families particularly hard. Our essential workers — teachers, first responders, hospitality and health care professionals — are being priced out of the very communities they serve. Many are working multiple jobs and still struggling to afford stable housing. And it isn’t enough.
As a mission-driven nonprofit that acquires and preserves affordable and workforce housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods, we at the Washington Housing Conservancy see the impact daily. We exist to ensure that the people who help keep this city running can afford to live here. Yet our ability to deliver affordable housing is being stymied by outdated policies that — while well-intentioned — are now actively undermining affordability efforts.
These policies were layered onto an already overregulated system defined by some of the longest eviction timelines, strictest rent controls and most complex property transfer rules in the country. Combined, they’ve pushed us past a tipping point. It has revealed a deeper, structural problem: Our housing ecosystem is broken.
Two policies in particular need urgent reform: the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) and D.C.’s eviction procedures. These laws were created to protect tenants — and we fully support tenant protections — but they’ve evolved into obstacles that often prevent nonprofit providers like us from acquiring, preserving, and responsibly managing affordable housing.
We support the TOPA section of the RENTAL Act of 2025 before the D.C. Council; the measure was recently stripped from the fiscal 2026 budget and will be considered as stand-alone legislation this month. And while we appreciate the intent behind the competing Common Sense TOPA Reform Act, we believe it introduces procedural layers without pointedly addressing the fundamental delays that TOPA imposes. In fact, it may introduce new burdens — especially for title companies and underwriters — without resolving the core delays that can stretch TOPA timelines up to 420 days. The D.C. Council should ensure that any reforms meaningfully streamline the process, not complicate it further
Let’s start with TOPA. This law gives tenants the right to purchase their building when it goes up for sale. In practice, TOPA can delay or derail the ability of nonprofits to buy market-rate buildings and convert them into permanently affordable homes. We’ve been forced to renegotiate financing, stretch out timelines, and, in several cases, walk away from promising acquisitions entirely — all because the process creates too much uncertainty.
The RENTAL Act proposes an important change: exempting from TOPA buildings that already carry a 20-year affordability covenant, and it can support adding more affordable units by expanding to buyers who voluntarily agree to one at the time of purchase. These sales preserve affordability from day one, which should be the number one goal. They don’t need the same review process as deals that might result in displacement.
This change would be a game-changer for nonprofits like ours. It would allow us to move quickly and confidently on acquisitions as well as make critical, early investments in properties, avoiding lengthy, costly TOPA processes — exactly what’s needed to preserve affordability in a competitive real estate market.
The second major challenge is D.C.’s eviction procedures. While cities across the country have adjusted to post-pandemic realities, D.C. continues to hold onto emergency-era housing policies that no longer reflect market conditions. As a result, we lead the nation, by double the national average, in unpaid rent, nearly two years after the pandemic ended.
No one wants to see tenants removed unfairly. But nonprofits also can’t sustain indefinite periods of rent nonpayment. We depend on rent revenue to cover building operations, maintenance, mortgages, and on-site services. When we can’t collect rent — and can’t pursue a fair process for resolving chronic nonpayment — the entire system becomes financially unsustainable.
The RENTAL Act calls for balanced reforms: maintaining strong protections for tenants while giving responsible landlords a pathway to address long-term nonpayment. This is essential to any viable, affordable housing strategy.
We know D.C. is serious about solving its housing affordability crisis. But without reforming TOPA and eviction policy, the city will continue to lose ground — especially in the fight to preserve housing for moderate to low-income residents. Our affordable workforce housing efforts are at risk, and with them, the stability of our communities.
We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for the tools to do our jobs. It’s time to modernize the rules. Let’s give nonprofits a fair shot at preserving affordability in the District — before even more working families are priced out of the place they call home.
Preserving housing affordability and promoting economic mobility in the DC-region
The Washington Housing Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your investment helps us expand our work. Your gift is 100% tax-deductible. EIN 83-1866109
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