(Washington, DC) - Acting Attorney General Peter Nickles announced today that on Monday, August 11, 2008, the District filed a second amended petition and complaint that lists the hazardous violations of nine rental properties. The District named 15 respondents and seeks to force compliance of 50 properties. The complaint was filed in order to keep rental housing accommodations open and in compliance with District law.
“This pattern of neglect has resulted in a serious threat to the health, safety, and security of the tenants,” said Attorney General Nickles. “We will continue to fight for the tenants in the District who are the victims of these slumlords.”
Each of the nine rental properties suffers from a history of neglect and indifference on the part of the respondents, which has resulted in the steady decline of healthy living conditions for tenants. As a result, the District of Columbia seeks appointment of a receiver for nine properties. The receiver will take charge of the operation and management of the nine properties that are currently in a state of gross disrepair, collecting rent and using it to repair the housing-code violations. If the rent collected is not sufficient to make the repairs, the District will ask the court to order the owner to do so – under penalty of civil contempt or fines.
There remain four properties for which the District is not seeking receivership because the owners have corrected outstanding violations in response to the lawsuit. However, the District will seek reimbursement for fees and costs that were incurred for the public nuisance abatement.
The District continues to seek compliance with many of the respondents who have not obtained a basic business license and/or a certificate of occupancy for the rental properties. In total 15 respondents remain named in the lawsuit, nine properties remain in the lawsuit for receivership, and an additional 41 properties remain named for compliance with business regulations.
A full list of properties and owners is below.
Contact: Leslie Kershaw
(202) 727-2320