Legal Aid DC filed a lawsuit on behalf of tenants at the Minnesota Commons apartment complex after the property was sold without warning and in violation of their right to purchase the property under District law. Since the sale, the conditions at the property have worsened for the tenants who still remain.

In March 2024, an LLC connected to notorious DC landlord Ali “Sam” Razjooyan purchased the 83-unit complex in Ward 7. The illegal sale was finalized without giving the required notice to tenants and disregarded their rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

Under TOPA, tenants must be notified if there’s an offer on the property and must be given the opportunity to buy the building themselves by forming a co-operative or by assigning that right to a developer of their choosing. But at Minnesota Commons, tenants were never even informed that the property had been sold — they only learned about it through word of mouth.

In the lawsuit, filed on October 22 in DC Superior Court, Legal Aid asked the Court to nullify the March 2024 sale, or to award damages to tenants for the violation of their rights.

“The tenants of Minnesota Commons were robbed of their chance to have a seat at the table as the building changed hands and have now been living for months under a landlord that has shown complete disregard not only for their legal rights, but also for their health and safety,” said Impact Litigation Staff Attorney Kaitlin Welborn.

Following the unlawful sale, conditions at Minnesota Commons have become unlivable under the new ownership. The DC Office of the Attorney General filed a separate lawsuit in September detailing “dilapidated” conditions at the property that included trash piling up, extreme rodent infestations, lack of air conditioning over the summer, and broken locks and windows.

TOPA gives tenants a chance to buy their homes that are being sold and empowers them to advocate for themselves and shape the future of the property. For example, a tenant organization can proactively seek out and vet a responsible housing developer that guarantees improvements and is willing to work with them to bring a fair offer to the table. The process gives tenants a voice and encourages developers to be more responsive to the needs of the residents living at their properties.

Minnesota Commons residents were never given that opportunity and are seeking a chance to find a buyer who wants to invest in the property and make repairs that are desperately needed.

“We have neighbors who have been here for decades and who can’t afford to move, but the building is falling apart around them,” said Tenant Association President Earnest Wilkerson, pictured above. “When the property was being sold, we weren’t given the opportunity to even explore other options. We are going to court to get that chance now.”

The Minnesota Commons Tenants Association previously exercised their TOPA rights and took steps toward purchasing the property after an offer came in in 2021. The complex ultimately wasn’t sold at that time, and any offer on the property in 2024 should have restarted the TOPA process.

The lawsuit was filed by Legal Aid’s Impact Litigation Project. The Project seeks strategic opportunities to bring cases that will create systemic change with dedicated resources and builds on Legal Aid’s long-standing commitment to impact litigation.