Preservation Through Tenant Rights in Washington, DC

As the demand for walkable neighborhoods accessible to amenities has increased for higher-income households, affordable housing—both subsidized and unsubsidized—has been lost from the affordable stock. Previously, while housing and neighborhood conditions varied, the availability of affordable housing in cities was thought to be secure. In other words, losing affordable housing from the stock in cities was not a great concern, both because vacancy rates were high and because, increasingly, the focus was not just on affordable housing, but housing in neighborhoods of opportunity with improved access to schools, jobs and safety. As a result, states and localities need creative solutions to preserving affordability. To provide access to a fast-paced market, many localities have begun to look at rights of first refusal as options. This paper examines one such law, Washington, DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) to understand its impact on the preservation of affordable housing. Using a multinomial logit regression model, we find that TOPA was highly effective at preserving affordable housing, particularly in areas where rents were rising. At the same, the particular preservation outcome shifted according to local funding and policy priorities.