maintenance

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Third tenant inspection in two months finds that exterior doors remain broken

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Members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association found on February 1st that three key security doors remain broken at 3003 Van Ness, allowing easy access from outside the building into the garage, and from the garage into the apartment area. This is the third time that tenants have recorded video of these broken doors since early December.

The tenant association has archived dozens of such videos in recent years, posting them on YouTube and Twitter/X, and sending them many times to Equity Residential management.

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Another tenant inspection of 3003 finds that problems have not been fixed

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Tenants conducted another inspection of common areas on Friday, Jan. 19th, and found that none of the problems that had been repeatedly reported to management in the past have been fixed.

As in past inspections, tenants found that many security doors are broken, allowing easy access from the outside into the building. These include one of the most highly trafficked entrances to the building, and several doors from the underground garage into the apartment hallways. In most cases, the doors can be opened without a fob. In other cases, the doors cannot be opened — even if a fob.

In addition, tenants found that almost a half dozen security lights in the lower courtyard remain missing or broken. Some appear to have been torn completely from concrete pedestals, others simply lie on the ground.

These security vulnerabilities are particularly concerning given that the DC Attorney General already has threatened suit against Equity Residential for poor security at 3003 Van Ness under the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Law.

The tenant association has extensively documented security problems at 3003 Van Ness since Equity Residential took control of the property in 2014 — writing reports, sending letters to Equity management, posting photos to Twitter/X, and conducting many inspections of the property.

Despite the fact that Equity Residential may bear legal liability for residents’ safety when the company fails to provide adequate security, many well-documented problems persist, with little apparent effort by Equity to fix them.

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Despite warning, Equity Residential has not repaired security problems at 3003 Van Ness

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Another informal inspection by the Van Ness South Tenants Association finds that security and maintenance problems that were reported to Equity Residential in early December have not been repaired.

The inspection was conducted on the morning of December 31, 2023. It found that four security lampposts in the lower courtyard remain broken. The locks on several security doors remain broken, providing intruders easy access to the buildings. There has been no apparent attempt by management to fix the vandalism in the elevators.

In addition, the recent inspection finds a large pile of broken furniture and other garbage at the loading dock.

The tenant association has warned Equity senior management about the broken exterior doors many times over recent years. In addition, the DC Attorney General has threatened to file suit against Equity Residential for poor security at 3003 Van Ness under the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Law. Nevertheless, Equity has not taken steps to keep the security doors in good working order.

The DC Department of Buildings is currently conducting a building-wide inspection of all apartments at 3003 Van Ness. The inspection has revealed numerous serious housing code violations, which may lead to large fines against Equity Residential.

The Van Ness South Tenants Association requests that Equity Residential take proactive steps to make 3003 Van Ness clean and safe.

See photos and videos below from the Jan. 31, 2023, VNSTA inspection of 3003 Van Ness.

Garage door E doesn’t lock — allowing easy access to the building

Garage door O doesn’t lock — this already has been reported many times.

Garage door N has not been fixed — allowing easy access into the building

Door into the west building from the garage does not lock. This has been reported many times, but never fixed.

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Tenant association inspection of 3003 Van Ness finds numerous problems

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Members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association found numerous problems during an informal inspection of common areas at 3003 Van Ness on Saturday, December 2, 2023. These included several security doors that don’t lock, several broken lampposts, elevators that have been vandalized, inoperable washing machines, laundry rooms without working lights, and courtyard paving stones that wobble and constitute a trip hazard.

Most of these problems have been reported previously to Equity Residential building management. Some problems, like the broken security doors, have been reported many times — despite the fact that the DC Attorney General has warned Equity about poor security at 3003 Van Ness.

Even the lock to the front door at the main entrance was broken, with visitors able to freely enter the building without a fob — see video below.

Tenant association members widely believe that it should be the responsibility of the owner and manager of the building, a $25 billion company, to frequently inspect the building for problems and to fix those problems expeditiously. That is not happening.

It is particularly important for Equity to fix problems that cause security vulnerabilities — for example, the broken security lights listed in photos below, or the several broken security doors that provide easy access to the buildings — see videos at the bottom of this page. The Van Ness South Tenants Association has reported such problems to Equity Residential management many times. However, despite the DC Attorney General’s threat to file suit against Equity for poor security under the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Law, the $25 billion corporation still has not taken adequate steps to keep security systems in working order.

Fortunately, the DC Department of Buildings (DOB) is currently conducting a building-wide inspection of apartments at 3003 Van Ness. We hope that the DOB inspection, which includes fine for housing code violations, will encourage Equity Residential to fix numerous problems in residents’ apartments as well as the many other problems documented below.

Even the door at the main entrance doesn’t lock. It is easy to enter the building without a fob.

Tenants again warn Equity Residential that taking down tenant association flyers is against the law

For the third time in recent weeks, the Van Ness South Tenants Association sent a letter to Equity Residential management, reiterating that DC law prohibits landlords from removing tenant association informational material from bulletin boards.

Recently, the tenant association has been posting flyers informing residents of 3003 Van Ness that the DC Department of Buildings is conducting building-wide proactive inspections at the property. VNSTA believes that Equity has made insufficient effort to alert residents about the inspections, and as a result it has impeded progress. For this reason, the tenant association has been posting informational flyers. Evidence strongly suggests that Equity Residential employees have been taking down many of those flyers.

The flyers are particularly important because they let residents know that they must fill out an official permission from the Department of Buildings in order to have their apartment inspected. Equity’s efforts to take down flyers deprives residents of that important information, decreasing the chance that they will get a needed inspection, and slowing the work of the Department of Buildings. For these reasons, the tenant association has sent Equity Residential a third letter reminding the company that it is illegal to take down tenant association flyers from community bulletin boards, and that the law stipulates steep fines for doing so.

“I am writing to you for a third time about Equity Residential employees removing flyers that were posted by the tenant association.

We are concerned because the flyers inform residents about building-wide inspections by the DC Department of Buildings, which have found that many apartments lack electrical outlets in kitchens and bathrooms that are designed to prevent electrocution. We also are concerned because it is illegal for Equity Residential to remove tenant association posters, under DC law §42–3505.06.
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— Quote Source
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"Proactive Inspections" to begin at 3003 Van Ness

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The DC Department of Buildings will soon begin inspections of all apartments and common areas of 3003 Van Ness, as part of DOB’s “proactive inspection” program.

The Department of Buildings website explains that buildings are chosen using a special algorithm “to address apartment buildings with an increased likelihood of violations. The algorithm takes into account factors like a building's age and the landlord's history of code violations.”

Residents who do not want their apartment to be inspected can fill out a form at this link on the DOB website.

Equity Residential has shared little information with residents about the pending inspections. For this reason, the tenant association has posted a flyer in common areas to inform all residents.

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Toxic hazard discovered at 3003 Van Ness

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During the week of August 28, 2023, residents of 3003 Van Ness complained about the smell of gasoline in the G2-level garage and in a stairwell of the West building.

The DC Fire Department investigated and found a leaking drum in the loading dock of 3003 Van Ness. Efforts were made to soak up the leaking substance. The DC Hazmat unit has been notified.

Equity Residential management failed to remediate the spill prior to the long Labor Day weekend, during which the loading dock door was left open to allow fumes to escape the building. Management has not told residents whether the situation poses a fire safety hazard and has not announced its timeline for cleaning up the spill.

VNSTA sends second letter to Equity about fluctuating water temperatures

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a second letter to building manager Josh Luper, inquiring against about residents’ complaints about water fluctuating between hot and cold.

In response to the tenant association’s first letter, Equity responded saying that the problems likely were localized to certain apartments. However, since then, repairs have been attempted in some apartments, but problems persist. In addition, residents note that complaints seem to come almost exclusively from apartments in the West building.

Read the new letter in printer-friendly format at this link.

EQUITY’S RESPONSE

On Dec. 19th, two weeks after we sent our first letter to Equity Residential complaining about fluctuating hot and cold water in the West building, we received this reponse.

Dear Valued Resident,

We have had a number of residents inform us of hot water fluctuations in the West building over the past couple of weeks. During these reports we checked our building systems and at that time determined that these issues may have been from what we thought to be failed diverters in those apartments. Since these reports have continued our team has since completed an additional exhaustive inspection of all our complete building system. During this inspection we were able to find a pump that was in need to be rebuilt. While this pump was running we believe it to be the cause of the infrequent water changes. If you have previously reported this issue please monitor your hot water and let us know if you experience any more fluctuations.

As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding while we work to resolve this issue.

VNSTA begins releasing results of its maintenance survey

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today began releasing the results of its recent survey on the maintenance of individual apartments at 3003 Van Ness. More than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness completed the survey.

The survey was conducted because of the large number of complaints the tenants association had received from tenants, who reported that they were experiencing chronic problems with poor ventilation, plumbing leaks, mold, rodents and other issues that Equity Residential had failed to fix properly. Most respondents did not blame the maintenance staff — many said that they believed that it was Equity corporate policy to devote few resources and staff to maintaining residents’ apartments.

Preliminary review of the survey results found that:

  • Many people reported that they currently experience several maintenance problems. Some reported as many as 6 different problems.

  • The #1 reported problem was poor ventilation, especially smoke from other apartments. 40% of respondents reported that they currently have a problem with poor ventilation.

  • Almost 1/3 of respondents reported that they currently have problems with rodents.

  • 1/4 of respondents reported that they currently have problems with mold.

  • Almost one in nine respondents report that they currently have no maintenance problems. Of those, only one respondent reported that he has had no maintenance problems at all.

Many respondents wrote several paragraphs or more about the frustrations they have experienced. The tenants association plans to release representative samples of their accounts via Twitter.

DC requires full expert analysis of problems outlined in VNSTA report

Several weeks after the Jan. 5th release of the VNSTA report titled, “Structural Problems, Security Issues and Safety Hazards” and after the tenants association pushed hard for an expert analysis of the widespread leaks in the garage and other issues, Equity Residential wrote a letter to the tenants association stating that it would make progress and it had planned to do so anyway.

While this doesn’t completely ring true because residents had complained above some of the problems — for example, broken doors and locks — for a long time, we appreciate any constructive steps that Equity makes toward fixing some of the serious problems outlined in the report.

On Jan. 31, VNSTA was able to find out that DCRA would require some of the strong measures that the tenants association had demanded. For example, it has required the following reports by Equity Residential:

  • An expert report on the causes of the large leaks in the underground garages, including plumbing and waterproofing

  • Analysis by a certified structural engineer of possible damage to columns, beams, and other critical support elements in the garage

  • Reports on repairs of all doors and locks

DCRA has required Equity to provide these reports by Feb. 15th.

This is a substantial although tentative victory for the tenants association. We plan to follow up to find out the content of those reports, to see if they fairly analyze the situation or if they are biased toward Equity Residential, and to push for repairs to the more serious damage described in the report.