A dozen families were moved into a hotel after a southeast D.C. apartment building was deemed too unsafe.
The building was in a constant state of disrepair, and the owner ignored requests to fix it, residents said.
“Sometimes we can't take baths for two-to-three weeks, can't wash dishes because the water is constantly off,” resident Ronald Bowens Jr. said.
The building had more than 287 code violations since April, according to D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Director Melinda Bolling. Most significant was lack of heat.
The building’s owner, not wanting to talk to News4, locked himself in a utility closet.
Resident Janice Dunbar’s husband died just days ago, and the family is postponing the funeral because of this move.
Though the families were placed in a local hotel, that move is temporary. They need to find their own housing.
