If the value of the improvements referred to in this chapter is found by the jury to exceed the damages of the plaintiff, the plaintiff may elect either to pay to the defendant the amount of the excess or to demand of the defendant the value of the plaintiff's property, without the improvements, as fixed by the jury, and tender to the defendant a deed for the property, with all the plaintiff's right, title, and interest therein.
D.C. Code § 16-1120