Thursday, October 1, 2026
The City of Olympia Land Use & Environment Committee is going to continue exploring the feasibility of policies that would give tenants the opportunity to purchase rental properties before they hit the open market.
The committee has directed staff to convene a stakeholder meeting at Olympia City Hall at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, to discuss tenant opportunity to purchase (TOPO) policies and strategies.
Invited participants include representatives from state-supported organizations, such as Resident-Owned Communities Northwest and the Northwest Cooperative Development Center, which provide technical assistance and financing for resident-ownership conversions in manufactured housing communities.
Thurston Housing Land Trust, the Washington State Department of Commerce Homeownership Unit, a local credit union, and housing advocates have also been invited to the meeting.
Senior Housing Program Specialist Chista Lenssen is going to present an overview of “Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Ordinance” and “Community Opportunity to Purchase (COPO)” policies, including considerations around organizational capacity, funding needs and legal issues associated with local implementation.
TOPO policies typically require property owners to notify tenants when a rental property is going up for sale, and provides tenants with an opportunity to make an offer before potential outside buyers step in. Some versions also include a right of first refusal, allowing tenants to match competing offers.
COPO policies expand the opportunities to nonprofit affordable housing organizations, public housing authorities and local governments.
According to a city staff report, the policies are intended to help renters compete in the real estate market and create pathways to long-term affordable homeownership.
Olympia’s Housing Action Plan and Comprehensive Plan supports strategies, such as funding nonprofit and community land trust housing purchases, exploring a tenant opportunity to purchase ordinance, and encouraging tenant cooperatives and nonprofit ownership models to help prevent displacement and preserve affordable housing.
City staff reviewed similar policies in other areas, and found that successful tenant and community opportunity-to-purchase programs rely on strong financing and technical assistance systems.
Critical aspects include clear timelines and notice requirements, adequate time for tenants to organize and secure financing, nonprofit and legal support, flexible and fast-moving funding sources, long-term assistance for property management, protections to keep housing permanently affordable, and clear enforcement mechanisms.
The issue has gained momentum statewide following changes to the state of Washington’s Manufactured Home Landlord-Tenant Act in 2023. The law requires owners of manufactured home communities to notify residents of a sale and allow them to compete to purchase the property.
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Marndog08
Not sure this is a fair practice to property owners, who should be able to sell to whomever they choose.
Tuesday, June 9 Report this
TheVirtualOne
Agree with you Marndog08. This is only going to encourage anyone who owns a rental property now to get out of the business, not unlike what the new rental registration and inspection requirements have done. The increased government overreach and over regulation will result in fewer rental units available in the market.
Tuesday, June 9 Report this
CommonSenseSenior
Ignorance is not bliss. Commentators need to actually read the language of RCW 59.20.325 Landlord Tenant Act. If you did you would see that the process is complicated but that the tenants and their tenant organization are still in competition with all other prospective buyers. It doesn't mean the owner has to sell to the tenants.
Wednesday, June 10 Report this
Yeti1981
The manufactured housing statute cited in the comments is a useful example, but it's important to recognize that manufactured home communities are a unique housing type. Residents often own their homes but not the land beneath them, creating very different circumstances than conventional rental housing.
The question Olympia should be asking is not whether tenants should receive notice and an opportunity to compete, but whether any future policy could unintentionally create barriers to housing investment, redevelopment, and new housing production.
If the goal is housing affordability, the City should carefully evaluate whether lengthy transaction timelines, additional acquisition requirements, or preferential purchasing rights could discourage investment in housing or delay projects that add much-needed homes to the market. Preserving affordability and increasing housing supply are both important objectives, and any policy should be measured against its impact on both.
Wednesday, June 10 Report this
Yeti1981
@CommonSenseSenior, You're correct that RCW 59.20.325 does not require a property owner to sell to tenants. The law provides tenants in manufactured home communities an opportunity to organize and compete to purchase the property, but the owner is still free to consider other offers.
That said, I think the policy discussion extends beyond whether a sale is mandatory. The question is what effect similar requirements could have if applied more broadly to conventional rental housing. Notice requirements, waiting periods, financing windows, and purchase opportunities for nonprofit organizations can all affect transaction timelines and redevelopment opportunities, even if the owner ultimately retains the right to choose the buyer.
Wednesday, June 10 Report this
JulesJames
I wish the City of Olympia would adopt a "do no harm" mentality for their Landlord-Tenant policies. If adopted, it would give tenants the false expectation of the possibility of purchasing their existing housing. The broader problem is complicated, so stay with me here... Owner-occupied housing is typically made market ready (new roof, new paint, new carpet). Tenant-occupied housing is made ready for sale typically by benign neglect -- the landlord ran out of desire to improve the investment years ago. A tenant purchasing existing housing isn't an "arm's length transaction." Relocation costs/domestic inertia interfere with that tenant's decisionmaking so this isn't a fair market decision. "Right to first refusual" is a false opportunity because the price is untested by the market and typically is 10% to 20% higher than the eventual sale price. The City of Olympia's proposal is an emotional false harbor that will delay tenants from making the hard decisions that happen when their housing sells, naturally degrades housing stock while causing tenants to pay far more than fair market value. OLYMPIA: Do No Harm!!! Bad -- feels good! -- idea.
Thursday, June 11 Report this