Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

TOPA Documentary Released Online

  • May 3rd 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

UrbanTurf published this piece a couple weeks ago about a hearing of the Council’s Committee on Housing and Workforce Development where the future of DC’s Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, better known as TOPA, was discussed. TOPA empowers tenants in the District with certain rights if their apartment building is put up for sale, including first right to acquire the building and convert it into a tenant-owned co-op. Quite unique in the country, the program is generally seen as one of the most impactful tools for preserving affordable housing in the city. The program now faces challenges due to tighter budgets.

At the council’s recent hearing, a new documentary called We Own This! was screened which asserted the need to continue funding TOPA. The documentary’s producer, the Latino Economic Development Corporation, hadn’t yet made the film available online when we published our original piece. But as of today, it has been made available online.

Following is the 14-minute film in its entirety. Like most documentaries this one advocates from a strong of view. But even for those who may not agree with it, We Own This! is worth watching for a look at some of the real people who have benefited from TOPA in recent years.

Also be sure to see our own recent coverage of TOPA:

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.production.logicbrush.com/articles/blog/topa_documentary_released_online/3435.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse