Testimony Sought for Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Legislation
/Have you or someone you know been displaced from rental housing because of the building being sold, loss of lease, or rising rent? Your testimony could help advance the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).
Photo by Eryka-Ragna on Unsplash
A hearing on TOPA, which is now pending before the Massachusetts legislature, is scheduled for October 12 before the Joint Housing Committee. Opportunities for in-person video testimony will be quite limited, so the TOPA Coalition is asking supporters to submit written and video testimony in support, which the coalition will bundle into a digital document.
TOPA can preserve affordable housing stock by providing a way for tenant associations to purchase their buildings collectively when they come up for sale, with the option of converting them to housing co-ops. This can help stabilize neighborhoods, limit displacement of renters, and create permanently affordable housing. It will be particularly helpful for renters making lower wages or on fixed incomes. Residents of housing co-ops have far greater levels of voice and tenure in their homes; risks and benefits are shared by all residents.
Supporting testimony can be quite brief and informal. The website TOPA4MA.org has examples and guidelines.
TOPA has been working well for decades in Washington, DC, where hundreds of apartment buildings have been converted. A version of TOPA—creating Resident Owned Communities (ROCs)—has successfully converted dozens of mobile home parks (and thousands of residences) to permanently affordable housing cooperatives over the past few decades throughout New England and New York.
TOPA guarantees residents a seat at the table when owners choose to sell buildings with more than six apartments. Although buildings will be sold at market rate—and TOPA allows residents to partner with housing nonprofits and municipal agencies to help make the sales happen—these buildings can become ever more affordable over time. Although not TOPA projects, there are several highly affordable housing co-ops in Boston and Cambridge where the share price (ownership) in the co-op costs less than a tenth that of local market-rate co-ops. We have limited equity co-ops where the shares cost less than one-half of comparable apartments. Even our higher-end market rate co-op shares trade at a substantial discount to comparable condominiums.
TOPA would be a transformational tool for affordable housing. In Boston alone, about 10,000 apartment units are sold each year and would qualify for the TOPA process. An estimated 2,000–3,000 might be able to be converted to permanent affordability each year, which would exceed the city’s own targets for the construction of new affordable housing. Statewide, the impact could be as high as 10,000 apartment units converted through TOPA each year once the program has been widely adopted by municipalities with substantial housing needs.
TOPA is in a strong position for passage by the legislature, but nothing can be taken for granted. More voices in support will increase the chance of successful passage. Please visit topa4ma.org and upload your written and video testimony today!
You can also ask your own Massachusetts Representative and Senator to co-sponsor the bill, or thank them for their support. Check the growing cosponsor list.