A lawsuit against the owners and managers of a northwest Washington apartment building claims residents lived with infestations of vermin, mold and contamination.
The Office of the Attorney General is seeking receivership for the building at 2724 11 St. NW, abatement of a public nuisance, restitution of rent payments for tenants and penalties.
Attorney General Karl A. Racine showed News4 photos of a tenant with bed bug bites, black mold on the floor and ceiling, and a hole in the ceiling where water enters when it rains.
“They’ve complained about these [issues] for any number of years and the situation hasn’t been remedied,” he said.
The 26-unit complex has a history of ongoing code violations including bed bug and rat infestations, inadequate heating and safety facilities, and extreme mold contamination due to unidentified leaks.
Additionally, vacant units are susceptible to squatters.
“Some of the units are unoccupied and when those units are unoccupied it becomes unsafe,” Racine said. “People try to get into and reside in these unoccupied units."
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Tenants have complained to the District’s Office of Administrative Hearings, but the conditions persisted, according to the attorney general.
Racine said his office took on the case in the interest of the tenants.
“No one in the District of Columbia should live in these types of conditions,” Racine said.
Residents of the property will not be forced to leave the building. Racine said they're not at the point of condemning the building, but he hopes management will fix the issues or another management company will take over.
News4 contacted the owner of the building and was told the person to speak with was not in the office.
