HOUSING CODE VIOLATIONS

In the past, many residents of 3003 Van Ness have reported problems with their apartments — rodent or insect problems, leaks, mold, excessive noise, etc. Equity Residential has often been very slow to fix such problems, despite the good maintenance team. (The staff is much smaller than it used to be, they are overworked, and Equity has not made serious efforts to keep the building in good condition.)

However, we are hopeful that in 2024 things will improve with new Equity Residential building manage, Dan Burkes, who promises improvements.

It may take a while to achieve a turnaround. In the meantime, residents continue to contact the tenant association almost every day for help with housing code violations.

If you have a problem in your apartment that may be a housing code violation, here is what you should do:

#1 — REPORT THE PROBLEM VIA THE EQUITY RESIDENT PORTAL

DO NOT simply call the front desk or the leasing office. Unless the situation is a true five-alarm fire emergency, this will not yield results.

You must report the problem via Equity Residential’s resident portal. Be sure to do a screen grab of your complaint. If you don’t hear from the service department in 2-3 days, move to step #2.

#2— COMPLAIN TO BUILDING MANAGER DAN BURKES VIA EMAIL

If you don’t get the problem fixed by reporting it through the Equity Residential resident portal, email building manager Dan Burkes, cc’ing the tenant association. He should respond in a timely manner. Save all subsequent emails — it is important to have a paper trail.

#3 — REQUEST AN INSPECTION FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF BUILDINGS

If you have tried both steps above, given management adequate time to respond, and you still have not gotten your problem fixed, you should request an official inspection from the DC Department of Buildings. Fortunately, this is very easy to do — just fill out the form on the webpage at the link above. DOB should respond to you within a week, if not within a few days. Be sure that you have attempted steps #1 and #2 above, and that you have records, before taking this step.

If the Department of Buildings finds housing code violations, it will fine the company — sometimes $1,000 or more. This gives Equity a strong reason to correct the problem.

If you file a request for an inspection from the Department of Buildings, be sure to alert the tenant association via email at vnsta@vnsta.org.

#4 — COMPLAIN TO OUR DC COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE

Our DC Councilmember, Matt Frumin, has been very responsive on various tenant issues. His office is busy handling legislation and other matters, but it will also help individual residents of Ward 3 (which includes 3003 Van Ness) if they are having problems with their landlord.

You can contact Councilmember Frumin’s constituent services representative, Ashley Mercer, via email at amercer@dccouncil.gov. This link will help you email Ashley and cc: the tenant association at the same time. Ashley will likely get back to you and try to help.

#5 (OPTION A) — FILE A TENANT PETITION IN HOUSING CONDITIONS COURT

If your problem has to do with a violation of the housing code (e.g., mice, inspects, mold, water damage, dust, etc.) you can file a simple complaint in DC Housing Conditions Court. This is a part of DC Superior Court, but it is designed specifically to help tenants with housing code violations — so it is relatively easy to deal with, even without an attorney. You cannot win monetary damages in Housing Conditions Court, but the court can force the landlord to fix the problems or face serious fines.

The tenant association has a pro-bono (free) attorney who has volunteered to help with Housing Conditions Court complaints. While it is possible to file a complaint through the link above without an attorney, some of the paperwork requires attention to detail so you may want to take advantage of this generous offer of our pro bono attorney’s time.

To initiate the process, please first read the information at the Housing Conditions Court webpage. The instructions specifically state that you must show that you have made an effort to alert the landlord about the problems. If you would like to proceed with a complaint, you can follow the directions or contact the tenant association for information about getting free legal assistance.

#5 (OPTION B) — FILING A TENANT PETITION IN THE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS

If your problem hasn’t been solved by steps 1-4 below, and it has to do with a problem not related to the housing code, you may want to file a “tenant petition” with the DC Office of Administrative Hearings. For example, complaints about illegal rent increases go to OAH, not to Housing conditions Court.

Filing a tenant petition in OAH is similar to filing a complaint in small claims court. You can file a complaint online, and theoretically, you should be able to represent yourself (without an attorney).

However, the reality of the situation is more complicated. If you represent yourself, the landlord likely will send a corporate attorney to oppose you at the OAH hearing. If your complaint is simple and you are indisputably correct, you may prevail. However, if it is complicated, the case may drag out.

For this reason, we highly recommend that you contact the DC Office of the Tenant Advocate (OTA) for advice before you file a tenant petition in the Office of Administrative Hearings. OTA has staff attorneys who can advise you about whether it makes sense to file a tenant petition in OAH.

#6 — GO TO THE PRESS

One of the options above should help you resolve your problem. However, nothing is guaranteed, and if you don’t get satisfaction in a timely manner, you may want to go to the press. The tenant association can advise you about whether such an action is appropriate and about how to do it with some chance of success. See some of our past successes at this link.