THERE MAY be fault to be found with how the administration of Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has worked to clear a backlog of blighted city-owned properties for development. But there is no fault to be found in its use of an open, competitive bidding process to determine who can best give new life to such properties. Given the District’s history of shenanigans when it comes to procurement and contracting, the mayor is right to adhere to established rules for the disposal of city real estate.

At issue is Ms. Bowser’s decision to seek solicitations for four houses and two vacant lots in historic Anacostia. The houses, empty and deteriorating, were among 162 properties in the city’s portfolio when Ms. Bowser took office that are slowly being marketed to developers who will build affordable housing. Her decision is at odds with a measure passed last year by the D.C. Council directing the city to transfer the four properties to the L’Enfant Trust, a nonprofit that specializes in historic renovations. Trust officials said they approached Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) after years of fruitless efforts to get a succession of city agencies interested in a proposal they contend would benefit the District by taking blighted property off its hands, doing the expensive work of historic renovation at no cost to the city and then selling the homes as workforce housing.

Trust officials may be right about the attractiveness of their proposal, and the Anacostia neighborhood is understandably impatient. But the city would be setting a terrible precedent — and opening up a can of worms — if developers think all they have to do to get a piece of property is go to the council and ask. Imagine the outcry if Ms. Bowser had handpicked a developer for a sole-source contract.

The city received and is evaluating proposals for the Anacostia properties from two other D.C. nonprofits. Officials hope to make an award next month. The L’Enfant Trust had an opportunity to put in its own bid — indeed, administration officials said they extended the solicitation period — but declined. In addition to believing it had an arrangement with the council, the trust appears to have issues with the administration’s requirement that low-income housing be built as part of the development project.

You might have thought the council would support the mayor’s effort to live up to her commitment to build more affordable housing. Then again, you also might have thought that a council that claims to believe in good government would support the District’s competitive-bidding protocol.