Tenant groups would find it easier to purchase rental property before it is sold to other parties under legislation being considered by Montgomery County Council members.

The bill would repeal a provision of current law that exempts owners of rental housing built after Feb. 5, 1981, from giving the county, the Housing Opportunities Commission and tenant organizations the right to buy rental housing before it is sold to another party.

Council President Marilyn Praisner introduced the measure at the request of County Executive Ike Leggett and all council members have signed on as sponsors. Leggett said in a memo to Praisner that 37 percent of all Montgomery County multifamily rental units, or 25,200 units, were constructed after Feb. 5, 1981, and would be subject to the measure.

“We have a very strong need to retain the affordable housing that we already have in Montgomery County,” Leggett said. “There have been some tendencies in the past where people have sold units that have gone on the market as affordable rental housing and have turned into high-priced housing.”

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Current law protects rental housing owners looking to sell by requiring the tenant organization, the county or HOC to match the best offer the owner receives from another party for the property.

Thomas Buzzuto, chair of the Buzzuto Group, which has ownership interests in about 1,000 apartment units in the county, is against the measure because it could discourage investors from purchasing apartment buildings in the county.

“I think the county, while well-intentioned, runs the risk of undermining their own objective,” Buzzuto said. “By putting a right of first refusal on rental housing sales, it will dampen the interest that other prospective buyers have in rental housing. By passing this bill, I think the county runs the risk of decreasing the future supply of rental housing.”

Council Member Marc Elrich said he supports the measure.

The council is scheduled to vote on the bill Tuesday.

kmiller@dcexaminer.com