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9 <br /> <br />OTP Laws <br /> <br /> OTP laws also require notice to residents and a government agency prior to a sale. The <br />notice then provides a period, similar to that in ROFR laws, in which the seller is required to <br />negotiate in good faith with a preservation buyer. The good faith negotiation requirement <br />addresses the problem described above of a ROFR buyer having to meet a set of pre-arranged <br />conditions. The trade-off is that there is no requirement of a sale to the preservation buyer. <br />Nevertheless, at least some OTP programs seem to be quite successful. The D.C. law covering <br />all rental housing 25 and the New Hampshire manufactured home park statute 26 are often cited as <br />examples. <br /> <br />Requiring Advance Notice of Sale <br /> <br />Laws which simply provide advance notice of sale provide would-be preservation <br />purchasers fewer rights and less leverage but are designed to at least get these parties to the table <br />earlier in the sale process. Perhaps unfortunately, they are the variety most under discussion in <br />the Twin Cities. Advance notice requirements like this are common with respect to sales or <br />expiring affordability controls for subsidized rental housing. The notice period in these cases is <br />typically at least a year, matching federal requirements, and these statutes have often been very <br />useful in allowing preservation buyers to strike a deal. The ROFR and OTP laws described <br />above also have notice provisions and these also serve the function of alerting residents, even if a <br />preservation purchase does not result. <br /> <br />One proposal under active discussion in some cities in the region is a local government <br />requirement that before an owner can sell a NOAH property, they must provide the city 90 days <br />advance notice of the sale. The primary purpose is to allow the cities to post this information to <br />give preservation purchasers the chance to bid on the property. An additional goal is to give <br />residents advance notice that their status at the property might be affected due to a sale. This <br />also helps service agencies to plan and provide help to tenants who will eventually face <br />displacement. <br /> <br /> One example illustrates how advance could make a difference in the Twin Cities region. <br />In 2015, the Crossroads Apartments in Richfield were sold, resulting in an upscaling of the <br />complex and the displacement of 700 households. In 2017, advocates learned at nearly the last <br />minute that the purchasers of Crossroads were about to sign a purchase agreement for another <br />similar Richfield complex, Seasons Park, presumably to undertake the same business plan, <br />leading to the displacement of several hundred additional households. Advocates, city officials, <br />Aeon, and even the Governor raced to push the seller to back out of the deal and instead sell to <br />Aeon. Due to these heroic last minute efforts, the owner agreed to back off on the sale to the <br />Crossroads owners, and instead transferred the property to Aeon. It was pure luck, however, that <br />this sale was uncovered at the last minute. Ninety days advance notice that Seasons Park was up <br />for sale would have made this considerably easier. <br /> <br /> <br />25 D.C., CODE § 42-2851.04. <br />26 N.H. REV. STAT. § 205A:21.