Tenant inspection finds that security doors are STILL broken

An informal inspection of security doors by members of the tenant association has found that multiple doors are still broken, after having been reported to Equity Residential many times over a period of three years. In the past, Equity also has been fined by the DC Department of Buildings for these same broken doors.

The doors allow easy access from the underground garages to the hallways of the South and West buildings. It is easy for intruders to enter the underground garages via the loading dock door, which is frequently left open, or by following a car through the main garage door. For this reason, it is critical that the security doors between the garage and the buildings lock properly.

However, over the past three years, these security doors have been in an almost constant state of disrepair, and can easily be opened without a fob. Equity Residential has been warned many times, including by the Department of Buildings, and by the tenant association.

The tenant association has recorded well over 100 videos of broken security doors at 3003 Van Ness. However, the $25 billion Real Estate Investment Trust has made little effort to repair these doors properly. Half-hearted attempts to fix the doors use cheap, residential grade materials, and so the doors are broken again within days or weeks.

See videos of three broken security doors below, recorded on July 16, 2025.

Tenant president files legal brief againt Equity Residential in rent case

Tenant association president Harry Gural filed a final brief in his appeal of a previous court decision in his 8+ year case against Equity Residential for the “rent concession” scheme, by which Equity circumvented DC rent stabilization laws and overcharged residents.

In 2016, the $25 billion corporation filed suit against Gural for failing to refusing a $362 per month rent increase ($4,344 annually) — approximately five times the maximum legal rent increase that year.

Equity frequently demanded residents pay rent increases from several hundred dollars per month to $1,500 per month — although under pressure it usually negotiated a lower rent increase, although still often more than the legal amount.

Gural blew the whistle on the company to the DC Attorney General in 2016, leading to the lawsuit District of Columbia vs. Equity Residential Management. Former Attorney General Racine and his attorneys won the case, getting $1 million in restitution for residents of 3003 Van Ness.

Gural appealed an administrative court decision in 2019, winning on appeal with a strong decision by the Rental Housing Commission. Gabe Fineman, a former resident and board member of 3003 Van Ness, filed a separate landmark case and won on appeal, paving the way for Gural’s victory on appeal.

The case was sent back to the lower administrative court, which ruled this time in Gural’s favor. However, it failed to assess the full penalties allowable by law for overcharges made in bad faith, which now exceed $50,000. Gural was forced to pay more than $30,000 out-of-pocket into court escrow while he defended Equity’s case against him in Superior Court.

The case is a textbook example of what happends when large corporations and their corporate attorneys target renters in administrative courts.

Fortunately, the “rent concession” scheme appears to have been permanently ended in Washington DC. Gural is the last tenant who is still being overcharged — a situation that hopefully will change soon.

Tenant’s Reply to Equity Residential’s Responsive Brief

Tenant association meeting scheduled for June 5th

The Van Ness South Tenants Association (VNSTA) will hold a general meeting for all residents of 3003 Van Ness on Thursday, June 5th, from 8:00 to 9:00 pm. The meeting will take place in the social room on the first floor (pool level) of the South building.

The Van Ness South Tenants Association represents residents of both the South and West buildings of 3003 Van Ness. All residents of 3003 Van Ness are invited to the meeting. There is no cost or obligation.

The tenants association encourages residents to spread the word about the meeting via word of mouth, email, or their social networks. For example, you can repost this post on X.

Or better yet, print the flyer below by clicking on this link. Then post it in the bulletin board of the laundry room on your floor.

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Updated record of 911 calls from 3003 Van Ness released

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The tenant association has released an updated record of 911 calls originating from 3003 Van Ness. In past months, calls were made to 911 for help with incidents recorded as:

Assault, burglary, disorderly disturbance, domestic violence, drug use, drug distribution, elevator rescue, fire alarm, gun incident, knife incident, noise disturbance, overdose, property damage, robbery, sexual assault, stabbing, suspicious person, theft, and verbal harassment.

These monthly records of 911 calls convey an approximate sense of the problems that have occurred. On the one hand, these are calls for help — not arrests. On the other hand, there are many incidents which occur that do not result in a call to 911.

The very high number of calls — many for serious offenses — are the reason the tenant association has worked hard to pressure management to improve security at 3003 Van Ness. Specifically, the tenant association has repeatedly requested that Equity Residential repair broken exterior doors in order to prevent unauthorized acccess to the buildings, install working video cameras that are actively monitored and record and save video, and hire a full-time security guard.

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DOB assesses more than $94,000 in new fines

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A recent search of the DC Department of Buildings SCOUT information system found that DOB has imposed $94,083 in fines on Equity Residential for housing code violations at 3003 Van Ness since January 1 of this year.

The Department of Buildings has been conducting hundreds of inspections of apartments and common areas of 3003 Van Ness since August 2023. In August of 2024, the tenant association retrieved records of fines assessed by DOB for violations at 3003 Van Ness and found that the totaled more than $1.2 million. DOB later determined that Equity corrected those infractions it and forgave the company for more than $1 million in fines.

However, the tenant association has continued to complain about serious safety and maintenance problems at 3003 Van Ness, including chronically broken security doors (allowing unauthorized access to the building), elevators that don’t work, fire-safety doors that do not shut automatically, and other problems in individual apartments and common areas. Because of these complaints, the tenant association and individual residents have requested additional inspections, which have turned up more violations — $94,083 in total as of March 3rd, 2025.

Equity Residential has told the tenant association that it plans to address the violations.

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Tenant association inspection of 3003 finds minor improvements, many problems

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An informal inspection of 3003 Van Ness by the Van Ness South Tenant Association conducted today that after many months of resident complaints, both exterior doors from Veazey Terrace are working properly. They lock automatically when the doors close, they open with a fob, and they won’t open without a fob. The tenant association has reported problems with these doors for well over two years, and residents are pleased that finally they have been repaired.

On the other hand, the tenant association inspection of 3003 Van Ness found many other problems — some which have been reported dozens of times in the past.

For example, many of the doors leading from the underground garages to the main buildings remain broken. Some open easily without a fob; others won’t open at all even with a fob. The tenant association has reported the broken doors many times in the past, recording approximately 100 short videos of broken doors over a period of more than two years, posting them on its YouTube channel.

The elevators in both 11-story buildings have been in and out of service for more than five years. Currently, of the four elevators in the 11-story West building, two have been completely out of service since December. Often, one of the remaining elevators is used for employees, contractors or resident moves, leaving only one in service. Of the three elevators in the 11-story South building, only one was operating during the inspection of Feb. 2 — the others were stuck on floors with no sign to indicate why they are not working.

In addition, the inspection revealed that there are still large holes in some parts of the ceiling in the garages, some heavy metal hatches hang from the ceiling so low that they could cause injury, ceiling panels in elevators are missing, some fire extinguishers are missing from their locations and are being used to hold open laundry room doors, and dozens of laundry carts remain parked in hallways.

Non-residents may find it hard to believe that this is a substantial improvement from conditions in recent years.

See photos and videos below from our February 23, 2025 inspection of 3003 Van Ness.

FIRST THE GOOD NEWS:

The main door leading from Veazey Terrace to the West building has been repaired, including an industrial-strength handle over the locking mechanism. However, the fob reader has already been broken, and residents on Monday reported that a fob would not unlock the door.

After more than two years of complaints by the tenant association, the second Veazey Terrace door leading into the G-2 level garage has also been repaired and is working properly.


NOW THE BAD NEWS:

1) ELEVATORS OUT OF SERVICE

Two of the four elevators in the West building have been out of service since mid-December. Management says that this is due to the massive flooding that occurred in the West building in December. While this may be the proximate cause of the problem, ALL elevators in both buildings have been out of order intermittently for several years, causing considerable frustration for residents.

In the West building on the day of the inspection, the two elevators on the north side of the West building (near Veazey Terrace) remained out of service. In addition, one of the two remaining elevators was stuck on an upper floor, so residents were forced to choose between waiting a long time for an elevator or walking the stairs of the 11-story West building.

Residents have become irate about the situation with the elevators in the West building. Management says that they won’t be repaired or replaced for months.

Sign on the door of an elevator that has been out of service since mid-December.

One of the two remaining elevators in the West building is temporarily out of service, leaving residents to wait for a long time or to walk.

South building elevators

On the day of the inspection, one of the two elevators in the South building was stuck on the fourth floor. While it appears that the elevator was later back in service, for a period of time the elevator couldn’t be used by residents.


2) SEVERAL SECURITY DOORS DON’T LOCK AND CAN BE ENTERED WITHOUT A FOB

Unfortunately, several of the doors leading from the underground garages are still broken, allowing easy access to the buildings for anyone who gets into the garages. It is easy to get into the garages because the loading dock door is frequently left wide open, and also because people on foot can follow cars through the garage door.

Residents are highly concerned about the fact that intruders can easily walk off the street into the buildings because 3003 Van Ness has experienced an elevated level of crime and extreme nuisance behavior in recent years.

Equity Residential has been told about the doors that do not lock many times. At times, it has made half-hearted attempts to fix the doors, using residential-grade materials that are easily broken.

The tenant association has recorded approximately 100 videos of broken doors at 3003 Van Ness over the past two and a half years, and it has posted the videos to its YouTube channel.

Door from G-2 garage into the West building doesn’t lock

This door has been almost continuously broken for more than two years, with management evidently making little effort to repair it. Through this door, an intruder who has entered the underground garages can easily enter the West building on the G-2 level near the fitness room. From there, no fob is needed to enter the hallways or main lobby .

Door A from the G-1 garage to the West building doesn’t lock

Despite reassurances from management to a resident that this door was being repaired this week, Door A remains broken, allowing easy access from the G-1 level garage to the West building. This door has been broken almost continuously for more than two years.

Double doors from G-2 garage into the South building did not lock

The main doors from the G-2 garage into the South Building have usually been working properly in recent months, with new heavy-duty metal doors and hardware. However, on Sunday Feb. 23, the doors could easily be opened without a fob — see video — allowing easy access to the South building.

Door Q from the G-3 level of the garage to the West building does not lock

This door has been broken continuously for many months. An intruder who has entered the underground garages can enter the building through Door Q without a fob.


3) SEVERAL SECURITY DOORS CANNOT BE OPENED EVEN WITHOUT A FOB

Door D from the G-1 garage to the South building cannot be opened, even with a fob.

This door has been broken continuously for many months.

Door N from the G-2 garage cannot be opened even with a fob

This door has been mostly broken for more than two years.

Door O from the G-2 garage the building does not open even with a fob

This door has been mostly broken for more than two years.

4) FIRE EXTINGUISHERS USED TO PROP OPEN LAUNDRY ROOM DOORS

For reasons difficult to understand, the doors to laundry rooms are sometimes propped open with whatever is at hand, including fire extinguishers. This means that the fire extinguishers aren’t in the boxes where they are supposed to be, a possible problem in the case of an actual fire.

4) HOLES IN GARAGE CEILINGS

In 2022, the tenant association released an extensive report about severe maintenance issues, especially leaks and water damage, in the underground garages of 3003 Van Ness. This report led to inspections by the Department of Buildings, which cited Equity Residential for violations, forcing the company to do extensive repairs.

Nevertheless, problems with the ceilings of the garages still remain. Some of them, like metal hatch left open at head height, could cause injury.

5) SHOPPING CARTS LITTER THE HALLWAYS

Some residents have a habit of taking shopping carts from the nearby Giant supermarket and using them to transport their groceries back to 3003 Van Ness. Often, they remain in the hallways for a long time, making the halls look like a shopping cart junkyard.

CONCLUSION

Because of time constraints, the tenant association did not do a complete inspection of common areas of 3003 Van Ness. In any case, that should be left to the professionals at the DC Department of Buildings.

However, the partial inspection conducted by the tenant association on February 23 found that while two important repairs have been made — the exterior doors leading from Veazey Terrace — many other problems remain, including elevators out of service, security doors from the garages to the buildings that either don’t lock or don’t open, safety hazards in the garages, and dozens of grocery carts that make the halls look like a junkyard.

The DC Department of Buildings continues its inspections for 3003 Van Ness, responding to complaints by residents. Over the past year, DOB has assessed Equity Residential with more than $1.2 million in fines, although DOB subsequently forgave most of those fines because it decided that the housing violations were adequately addressed.

Residents of 3003 Van Ness simply want to live in a clean, well-maintained building, with adequate security, and operational elevators, which fully complies with the DC Housing Code.

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City Paper finds more fines at 3003 Van Ness than any other building in DC

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The Washington City Paper published a story today finding that in August 2023, the owners of 3003 Van Ness owed the city more than $1.2 million in unpaid fines for housing code violations. This affirms a previous report by the tenant association, which also included a detailed list of those fines.

The WCP story reports that more than $1 million in fines had been wiped away in recent months, despite ongoing housing code violations at 3003 Van Ness.

A recent informal inspection by the tenant association found that extensive problems persisted even after the Department of Buildings conducted inspections of 3003 Van Ness for more than a year.

Many apartment doors lack self-closing, fire-safety mechanisms even after two arson attempts at 3003 Van Ness.

The Department of Buildings plans to continue inspections of 3003 Van Ness this month.

Data source: DC Department of Buildings

““The District’s decision to forgive the property’s fines only underscore that the current system does not incentivize landlords to provide timely responses to safety concerns. The fact that DOB forgives fines—even more than $1 million of them—means that a landlord can ignore serious housing code violations for a long time. The company does not fear the Department of Buildings, so it does not repair serious problems that put their residents at risk.””
— Harry Gural
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Tenant association reminds residents to sign inspection permission forms NOW

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The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a newsletter to all members, reminding them to fill out permission forms to get their apartments inspected by the Department of Buildings.

Between August 2023 and fall 2024, the DC Department of Buildings conducted a “proactive inspection” of many units at 3003 Van Ness, assessing well over $1 million in fines for violations of the housing code. Some of those violations were potentially life-threatening, e.g., the lack of GFCI electrical outlets and self-closing fire safety doors.

DOB was not able to inspect all units at 3003 Van Ness.

Nevertheless, residents report that many some violations in apartments have not been repaired. Also, serious problems in common areas persist, e.g., two elevators in the West building that have been out of order since December, and apparently won’t work again until at least the end of the year.

For these reasons, the tenant association has asked DOB to inspect all remaining units that have potential housing code violations, as well as all common areas.

However, for residents to get an inspection, they must fill out a permission form and send it to the Department of buildings at DOB.OAR@dc.gov.

See more information below in the newsletter that was sent to tenants.

DON'T MISS THIS LAST CHANCE TO GET PROBLEMS IN YOUR UNIT FIXED

Thanks to the advocacy of members of our tenant association, the DC Department of Buildings (DOB) has decided to inspect 3003 Van Ness AGAIN. This is a critical opportunity to get long-standing problems in your apartment and in common areas addressed.

PROBLEMS IN YOUR APARTMENT

For DOB to inspect your apartment, you MUST fill out a permission form and send it to DOB. Without this form, DOB will not be able to inspect your unit.

NOTE: In the past, even when residents filled out permission forms, DOB had trouble getting into apartments because Equity Residential did not make an effort to make this possible. DOB says that this time Equity has pledge to cooperate.

If you have any of the problems listed below, please print the permission form (English or Spanish), and email it to the DOB at DOB.OAR@dc.gov. Please cc: the tenant association at vnsta@vnsta.org.

If you have issues in your apartment, now is the time to act. If DOB finds housing code violations, it will order Equity Residential to fix the problems or face a steep fine. 

Examples of Possible Housing Code Violations:

  • Door to the hallway doesn't close by itself (fire hazard)

  • Electrical outlets without circuit breakers in the kitchen or bathroom (electrocution risk)

  • Problems with heat or air conditioning

  • Rodents

  • Insects

  • Mold

  • Peeling paint

  • Plumbing leaks

  • Broken appliances

  • Lights that don’t work

  • Warped flooring or other effects from the recent flooding

  • Other problems 

PROBLEMS IN COMMON AREAS

As you know, we also have experienced many problems in common areas -- broken elevators, malfunctioning exterior doors, leaks, loose floor tiles, rodents, etc. The tenant association has reported many of these problems to the Department of Buildings, along with extensive video evidence in many cases.

If you know of problems that you think may not have been reported, please take photos and video of the problem, including both close-ups and medium shots (to help show the location). Please send these to the tenant association, along with a description and more details about the location, so we can forward these to the Department of Buildings.

DON'T MISS YOUR CHANCE

This may be the last chance you will have in a long time to get problems in your apartment or in common areas fixed. This rare opportunity was only made possible by many hours of work. Don't miss your chance to get things fixed so you can enjoy 3003 Van Ness again!

““The landlord must ensure that your unit and all common areas are safe and sanitary as of the first day of your tenancy. This is known as the “warranty of habitability.” The landlord must maintain your apartment and all common areas of the building in compliance with the housing code, including keeping the premises safe and secure and free of rodents and pests, keeping the structure and facilities of the building in good repair, and ensuring adequate heat, lighting, and ventilation.””
— DC Tenant Bill of Rights

Recent survey finds that some doors lack fire-safety mechanisms

A recent online survey of residents of 3003 Van Ness found that some apartment doors like self-closing fire-safety mechanisms, a possible violation of the DC Housing Code. In the case of a fire, the mechanism is designed to automatically close an apartment door after the resident exits, slowing the possible spread of the fire.

So far, 44 residents have completed the survey. Of those, 34 report that their units lack self-closing fire-safety doors.

These findings are particularly troubling given the recent fires that were deliberately set in a hallway and a stairwell of 3003 Van Ness last week. This follows a previous arson attempt in 2023.

Due to the recent arson attempt, the tenant association plans to renew its efforts to get more residents to complete the survey so it can be determined which units need self-closing doors.

After recent inspections of a large number of units at 3003 Van Ness, Equity Residential added self-closing mechanisms on some doors. As seen in the photo below, they do not appear to be prohibitively expensive devices.

It isn’t too late for residents of 3003 Van Ness to complete the online fire door survey.

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New Year's Eve inspection finds chronic security and maintenance problems

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An informal inspection by members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association found that many of the same security problems that have been reported in the past have not been addressed. The tenant association has recorded well over 80 videos of malfunctioning security doors over the past two and a half years.

Many of the problems recorded on video on December 31st are the same issues that were witnessed by the DC Department of Buildings (DOB) during an official inspection of 3003 Van Ness on December 17th. The DOB discover many malfunctioning security doors, and it issued a 21-page Notice of Infraction to Equity Residential and levied $609 in fines.

On December 31st, two weeks after the DOB inspection, the tenant association found that only two doors had been repaired, while many others remain broken. One door that was repaired is the second Veazey Terrace entrance, which has been broken almost continuously for more than two years — it now has a reinforced handle and lock mechanism. The main entrance from Veazey Terrace also received a stronger door handle, but the hinge mechanism still does not work properly so the door does not close automatically.

The chronically broken security doors are of especially serious concern given that an intruder attempted to light a resident’s apartment door on fire on Monday, December 30th. Equity Residential management has not informed residents about this incident, and it is not clear whether it has taken any steps to prevent the intruder from entering the building again. In any case, as the videos below indicate, it is extremely easy for anyone to enter 3003 Van Ness.

An intruder attempted to light a fire outside a resident’s apartment.

The informal inspection of 3003 Van Ness by the tenant association found that exterior security doors were left open, and other security doors malfunctioned or had broken locks and could be opened without a fob.

The door at the main entrance from Veazey Terrace does not close automatically.

The door in the G2-level garage to the West building by the gym can be opened without a fob, allowing easy access to the West building.

Door N to the South building in the G-2 garage can be opened without a fob, allowing easy access to the South building.

This door has been broken for months, allowing easy access to the apartment building from the underground garage. It is easy to get into the underground garage from other entrances, so it is easy to walk off the street into the garage and then into the apartment area.

Door G on the G-1 level of the garage into the South building won’t open with a fob. As a result, someone frequently props it open with a fire extinguisher, allowing easy access to the building.

Door Q on the G-3 level of the garage remains broken, allowing easy access to the buiding.

The loading dock door is left open at approximately 10 am on December 31st. There is no Equity Residential employee in sight.

The same loading dock door is still open four hours later, allowing easy access to the building.

Two of the four elevators in the West building are broken, including the only freight elevator. One of the remaining elevators is frequently used by contractors, so only one elevator is operational for residents of the 11-story West building.

In the 11-floor South building, one of the three elevators is out of service.

One of three elevators in the South building is out of service.

Residents of 3003 Van Ness are extremely concerned about the fact that there are not enough working elevators to serve the residents of the two large apartment buildings. Older and disabled residents cannot climb the stairs or exit the building easily. Other residents are forced to wait a long time for an elevator. Residents cannot move large furniture in or out of the building due to lack of a service elevator.

LAUNDRY ROOMS

Residents largely welcome the recent upgrade of laundry rooms, with the installation of new washers and dryers.

However, it seems like some of the new washers are leaking or were incorrectly connected to the plumbing. One resident recently alerted management to this leak on the 5th floor laundry room in the West building.

BROKEN LIGHTS

Residents also report that many lights are out in stairwells and some hallways.

While management has claimed that the broken lights are due to the recent massive flood in the West building, residents say that many of these lights have been out for a long time. In fact, there is a lot of email evidence between residents and management showing that residents have complained about broken lighting in stairwells long before the flood.

Long “dolly shot” of maintenance problems in stairwells and hallways of 3003 Van Ness

MORE bROKEN LIGHTS

Residents have recorded more videos of broken lights. The videos below were recorded on January 6th in stairwells 1 and 2 near the 10th floor in the West building. Both show that many lights are out in these stairwells.

We are concerned about this safety and security issue, in part because two elevators are out of service in the West building, forcing residents to walk up or down stairs in some cases.