Opinion ID: 1560190
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Applicable Settlement Period Under TOPA

Text: Linen's second argument challenging the order granting summary judgment is that the trial court erred in ruling that the landlord provided him with at least the minimum time period for settlement required by TOPA. Based on his contention that the property is a two-family home, the appellant asserts that under TOPA he was entitled to a minimum of ninety days to settle. However, as we agree with the trial court's conclusion that the property at issue is a single-family dwelling, we apply the TOPA provisions governing the sale of single-family homes to the facts of this case. Lanford provided Linen with the offer of sale required by TOPA on August 25, 2005. The parties entered into a contract of sale for the property on October 3, 2005, and to avoid any dispute that his offer did not match the third-party contract, Linen merely changed the name on the contract, initialed, and signed it. The copy of the regional sales contract signed by Linen that appears in the appellant's appendix is in large part illegible. However, a handwritten notation appearing on the third page of the signed regional sales contract indicates that settlement was to take place on or before December 1, 2005. It is unclear which party is responsible for the inclusion of this handwritten notation and Linen denies having signed or initialed the provision of the contract calling for settlement by December 1, 2005. Linen brought suit a day later on December 2, 2005, alleging that his rights under TOPA had been violated. TOPA specifies that once a single-family home tenant provides the owner with a written statement of interest pursuant to D.C.Code § 42-3404.09(1), the owner must allow the tenant sixty days to negotiate a contract of sale. D.C.Code § 42-3404.09(2). Then, if the parties are able to negotiate a contract of sale, the owner shall afford the tenant a reasonable period prior to settlement in order to secure financing and financial assistance, and shall not require less than 60 days after the date of contracting. D.C.Code § 42-3404.09(3). The owner shall grant the tenant an extension of time to proceed to settlement if a lending institution or agency estimates in writing that a decision with respect to financing or financial assistance will be made within 90 days after the date of contracting[.] Id. Any extension of time the owner provides the tenant is to be consistent with the written estimate by the financial institution. Id. TOPA protects owners from liability under a third party contract if they provide tenants with reasonable extensions of time to negotiate a contract or proceed to settlement. D.C.Code § 42-3404.04. The owner cannot compel a tenant to waive his rights under the statute unless consideration is provided and any decision on waiver is committed to the tenant's discretion alone. See D.C.Code § 42-3404.07. The portions of TOPA cited above provide that Linen had a minimum of sixty days from October 3, 2005, to proceed to settlement. December 1, 2005, the settlement date identified in the signed regional sales contract, is sixty days from October 3, 2005, if one includes both the start and the end dates in the calculation. [4] In addition, nothing in the record indicates that the landlord did anything further to schedule or insist upon a settlement date of December 1, 2005, or a specific later date. Nor does the record indicate that prior to filing his complaint Linen requested that Lanford grant him an extension of time to proceed to settlement. Instead, he immediately filed suit and he claims in his appellate brief that it was certain that the landlord never intended to allow the tenant the proper time to secure financing and financial assistance. As Linen was afforded the minimum sixty-day time period to proceed to settlement that TOPA requires when an owner sells a single-family home, we affirm the trial court's grant of summary judgment.