OAKLAND — Inspired by the Moms 4 Housing activists who took over an empty West Oakland property in November, a city councilwoman introduced a new ordinance Thursday that would help keep renters in their home when their building is sold.

The Moms 4 Housing Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, by Councilwoman Nikki Fortunato Bas, would give renters a chance to buy their building if their landlord is looking to sell.

Before listing the property for sale on the open market, landlords would be required to give their tenants notice. If a tenant was interested in buying the property, the landlord would then be required to negotiate with him or her — but the owner wouldn’t be required to accept the tenant’s offer. If the landlord gets another, better offer for the building, the tenant would be granted a set number of days to match that price.

“It just creates more opportunities for tenants to stay in their homes permanently,” said Miya Saika Chen, Fortunato Bas’ chief of staff. “Not just as renters, but also as homeowners.”

After debuting at the Council’s Rules and Legislation Committee meeting Thursday, the proposed ordinance is scheduled for a vote in the Community and Economic Development Committee on Feb. 25. From there it would go on to a full City Council vote. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf already has signaled her support for such a measure.

Fortunato Bas’ office is still ironing out the details of the ordinance.

Thank you Council member @nikki4oakland and @moms4housing and @fifeca for bringing the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act! pic.twitter.com/KlencTKMm1 — Rebecca Kaplan, Oakland Council President (@Kaplan4Oakland) January 30, 2020

The ordinance was prompted by Moms 4 Housing — a group of women who squatted in an empty, investor-owned house in West Oakland for two months before they were evicted and arrested. Their actions garnered national attention — even generating praise from Gov. Gavin Newsom — and came to symbolize the Bay Area’s housing crisis.

Last week, the property owner — real estate company Wedgewood — agreed to negotiate to sell the house to the nonprofit Oakland Community Land Trust. Once the deal is finalized, the women are expected to move back in.

Wedgewood also agreed to give the land trust or other nonprofits a chance to buy the dozens of other homes it owns in Oakland. And Schaaf has said she plans to enact a policy by which all real estate companies would be required to negotiate with the city, a land trust or a nonprofit before listing their property on the open market.

When announcing the deal with Wedgewood, Schaaf also vowed to enact a measure that would make it easier for tenants to buy their buildings.

Earlier this month, Council President Rebecca Kaplan called on the city to buy properties at county auctions and convert them into affordable housing. The City Council is set to address that idea at a March 3 meeting.

Both Kaplan’s and Fortunato Bas’ proposals directly follow the culmination of the Moms 4 Housing protest this month. When Fortunato Bas announced her Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act during a news conference in front of City Hall on Thursday, Moms 4 Housing founder Dominique Walker was at her side. Carroll Fife, regional director of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, which has been working closely with Moms 4 Housing, was there too.

“This legislation will help safeguard tenants from eviction,” Fife wrote in an emailed statement, “and limit the ability of speculators to have carte blanche in our community and slow the impact of the housing crisis.”