Owners of 4 DC properties sanctioned after failing to address safety, health concerns, AG's office finds

WASHINGTON — The owners of four residential properties in D.C. hit with additional sanctions for failing to address safety and health concerns, an announcement from D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. 

“All District tenants are entitled to live in a safe, habitable, code-compliant home. These outcomes will have an immediate and positive impact on thousands of people across the city who for far too long have been forced to live in deplorable, unsafe conditions,” Schwalb said in a statement. 

The properties involved include Foster House, Marbury Plaza, Garfield Court Apartments and Concorde Gardens. Allegations range from failure to make necessary repairs to serious violations like a broken fire alarm system, and other fire hazards. 

In the case of the Marbury Plaza, an apartment complex located on Good Hope Road in Southeast, D.C., residents were found to be living in unsafe conditions which included mold, water and sewage leaks, failed plumbing, insect and rodent infestations and more. 

“I think one of the common themes I’m seeing is how much housing and housing instability ties into the overall ecosystem in our city,” Schwalb told WUSA9. “I’m seeing more and more the connection between healthy foods access to healthcare and our overall challenge with public safety.”