Opinion ID: 1904669
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The General Definition of a Sale

Text: Subsection (a) provides in relevant part that [b]efore an owner of a housing accommodation may sell the accommodation, [he or she] shall give the tenant an opportunity to purchase the accommodation at a price and terms which represent a bona fide offer of sale. D.C.Code § 42-3404.02(a) (2001). This subsection does not explain the meaning of sell or sale, but in West End Tenants v. George Washington University, 640 A.2d 718 (D.C. 1994), we defined a sale as a contract whereby property is transferred from one person to another for a consideration of value, implying the passage of the general and absolute title, as distinguished from a special interest falling short of complete ownership. Id. at 727 (quoting BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 1337 (6th ed. 1990)). We applied this definition in Twin Towers Plaza Tenants Ass'n v. Capitol Park Assocs., L.P., 894 A.2d 1113 (D.C.2006), holding that transfer of a 95% interest in a property was not a sale because [s]uch a transaction is, by definition, a transfer of a special interest `falling short of complete ownership,' and therefore not a `sale' within the meaning of the [Sale Act]. Id. at 1119. The two defining characteristics of a sale under subsection (a) are (1) the passing of general and absolute title (2) in exchange for consideration.