The District's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA) provides financial and technical assistance to tenant groups that are pursuing the purchase of their apartment buildings with the intention to convert them to cooperatives or condominiums. This program not only helps residents avoid displacement, but it helps them become homeowners. To make this happen; however, tenant groups must follow certain steps. Similarly, before a residential property is sold, landlords and realtors must understand the steps they must abide by.