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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.

Residents report second arson attempt at 3003 Van Ness

On Monday, Dec. 30th, 2024, residents of 3003 Van Ness reported an apparent attempt to light a fire inside a hallway on the 7th floor of the South building. Those who observed the incidents said that the perpetrator may have been a former resident of the building.

Ashes in stairwell on South 7th floor, 3003 Van Ness

This attempted arson followed another unusual incident on Saturday, Dec. 28th, when a fire extinguisher was sprayed in the hallway of the South 7th floor. Video taken immediately following the incident shows extensive powder and footprints leading toward the exit elevator.

Fire extinguisher residue and footprints

RESIDENTS’ CONCERNS

These most recent attempts to set fire inside 3003 Van Ness follow another incident on Aug. 20th, 2023, in which an apparent non-resident spilled gasoline in a stairwell in an upper floor of the West building.

There are other serious reasons for concern:

  1. Fire alarms have gone off dozens of times in the past year, as often as once a week or more. They occur so often that when an alarm goes off, many residents don’t leave their apartments because they assume that the incident is a false alarm.

  2. The building management has not even informed residents about the arson attempt.

  3. Building security is horrible at 3003 Van Ness. Over the past two and a half years, one or more exterior doors has been broken at almost all times, allowing easy access into the building. In addition, three to four doors from the underground garages have also been broken at almost all times, and the loading dock door is frequently left open. It is extremely easy to enter 3003 Van Ness, and any intruder who would want to create a problem of any sort could easily gain direct access to hallways.

  4. The fire alarms at 3003 Van Ness do not connect directly to the DC Fire Department, but instead are routed to a third-party company, which decides whether to alert the Fire Department. Most residents don’t know this, so they assume that if in the event of a fire they pull an alarm the Fire Department will be directly alerted. This is not true — residents must call 911 to get quickly to the Fire Department.

  5. There are many senior citizens and others living in the building, who would have trouble evacuating in the case of a fire.

  6. Equity Residential has done little to address these issues in recent years. For example, until recently, it has made little effort to repair the exterior security doors. As evidence, the tenant association has recorded more than 80 videos of broken doors at 3003 Van Ness.

  7. Equity Residential refuses to hire an experienced 24/7 security guard service despite a high number of security problems in the building. City records submitted at recent testimony before the DC Council show that residents of 3003 Van Ness make on average one call to 911 for assistance every day. Some of these are for serious incidents — in recent months residents have called 911 for reported stabbing, assault, theft, burglary, disorderly disturbance, domestic violence, sexual assault, aggravated assault, illegal firearms, drug dealing, overdoses, harassment, and fraud.

911 calls originating from 3003 Van Ness in October, 2024

The tenant association has tried repeatedly in the past to get Equity Residential senior management to take the security and fire risks seriously. For example, see the long list of posts about security issues.

Or see these past posts and letters to Equity Residential senior management regarding fire risks:

THE TENANT ASSOCIATION VERY STRONGLY RECOMMENDS THAT RESIDENTS EVACUATE THE BUILDING WHEN FIRE ALARMS GO OFF.

DESPITE THE FACT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN MANY FALSE ALARMS, THE RECENT ATTEMPT TO SET A FIRE IN THE HALLWAY SUGGEST THAT THERE IS A RISK OF AN ACTUAL FIRE. RESIDENTS SHOULD TAKE THIS RISK SERIOUSLY.

Tenant president submits Notice of Appeal of court decision in rent case

Harry Gural, president of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, yesterday submitted a notice to the Rental Housing Commission that he will appeal a decision by the DC Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) in an eight-year rent case.

The announcement may come as a surprise to those following the case, because the final decision by OAH ordered Equity Residential to pay Gural $59,888 for past overcharges.

However, Gural had long argued that DC law mandates that the housing provider pay three times the amount of the overcharges if they were made in bad faith.

“(a) Any person who knowingly (1) demands or receives any rent for a rental unit in excess of the maximum allowable rent applicable to that rental unit under the provisions of subchapter II of this chapter, or (2) substantially reduces or eliminates related services previously provided for a rental unit, shall be held liable by the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing Commission, as applicable, for the amount by which the rent exceeds the applicable rent charged or for treble that amount (in the event of bad faith) and/or for a roll back of the rent to the amount the Rent Administrator or Rental Housing Commission determines.”
— DC law §42–3509.01. Penalties

This central part of the case depends on whether Equity Residential acted in bad faith when it charged Gural more than $50,000 over eight years. (Gural was forced to pay “only” $31,000 into escrow under an order in Superior Court.)

DC law (§42–3502.08) states that in rent-stabilized apartment buildings like 3003 Van Ness, the landlord can charge an annual rent increase calculated by multiplying the current rent by a figure equal to inflation (CPI-W) plus 2%. For example, if the current rent is $2,000 per month and the inflation rate is 3%, the maximum rent increase would be $2,000 x (3% + 2%) = $100. The new maximum rent would be $2,100.

Nevertheless, evidence shows that Equity Residential had inaccurately listed Gural’s current rent as an amount that far exceeded his actual rent paid, and then demanded a rent increase based on this higher amount — demanding a rent increase of $365. In fact, the maximum rent increase by law was $65.

Equity Residential argues that it could not possibly have known how to calculate rent increases under DC law, and that it could calculated rent increases based on falsely reported amounts that far exceed the amount actually paid.

Evidence introduced by Gural shows that Equity had frequently demanded of other tenants rent increases that exceeded $1,000 per month.

Former Attorney General Karl Racine won $1 million award for residents of 3003 Van Ness for this practice. Nevertheless, Equity Residential continued to argue that it could not possibly know that it was overcharging Gural even after the 2021 decision in the Attorney General’s case.

For this reason and others related to charges of retaliation, Gural submitted his Notice of Appeal to the Rental Housing Commission, the three-person panel which serves as the appellate body for rental housing cases.

It appears that the eight-year case will drag on.

How to get help if your apartment was flooded

If your apartment or belongings were damaged by the widespread flooding in the West building on December 16th, here are some tips for getting help.

  1. Report the incident to Equity Residential management for 3003 Van Ness. Equity has an online portal for reporting maintenance problems. However, we strongly recommend that you also email the building manager, Dan Burkes, at dburkes@eqr.com. You should cc the tenant association at vnsta@vnsta.org.

  2. Take extensive photos and video of the damage. If it isn’t repaired in a timely manner, take more photos and videos as evidence that it was not repaired.

  3. Fill out this important survey by the tenant association so we know about your problem and can help.

  4. File a request with the DC Department of Buildings for an inspection of your unit. The DOB is closely aware of the situation, and it will send someone to inspect your apartment for damage.

If you have additional questions, email the tenant association at vnsta@vnsta.org.

You can help your neighbors by making sure that they receive this information. While many residents of 3003 Van Ness are on the tenant association email newsletter distribution list, some residents are not. You can help share the information above by printing a few copies of this one-page flyer and posting them on your hall or slipping them under the doors of nearby apartments. (If you slip them under the door, please be sure to slip them all the way under.)

Thank you!

At least two of four elevators in the West building are out of service

The recent massive flooding in the West building of 3003 Van Ness has seriously damaged elevators #3 and #4 in the West building (those closest to Veazey Terrace.)

Residents report that one of the other two elevators in the West building has been sporadically out of service, apparently due to workers removing washers and dryers from all of the laundry rooms in the West building. As a result, in recent days residents of the 11-story West building often have had access to only one elevator. Many residents, especially senior citizens, have expressed their concern.

According to management, “it will take some time for the other two elevators to be up and running as they have extensive damage due to the flood.”

See below a photo taken on the day of the flood of one of the elevators that was severely damaged. This elevator and the one adjacent to it are now out of service.

Flood in elevator (Dec. 16, 2024)

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DC Department of Buildings inspects broken security doors

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At the request of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, the DC Department of Buildings today inspected broken security doors at 3003 Van Ness.

Just two days earlier, VNSTA reviewed the security doors leading from the street into the underground garages, and from the underground garages into the West and South buildings. The tenant association found that it remains easy to enter the residential hallways of 3003 Van Ness from the street, through multiple doors.

The tenant association has recorded more than 80 videos of broken security doors at 3003 Van Ness over more than two years.

A Department of Buildings inspection of the doors at 3003 Van Ness found multiple violations.

See video below recorded on December 15th, 2024.

Equity provides information to residents regarding major mainline water leak

Equity Residential has shared some information with residents regarding the widespread flooding caused by a major pipe that burst on the 10th floor of the West building just after midnight on December 16th. (See information about the flooding along with photos in the previous news item below.)

At 1:03 am last night, Equity sent an email to residents, which said this:

This email is to inform you that we have shut the water off to the building due to an emergency water leak. Our team is on site assessing the issue, once we have a time frame for repairs, we will send a follow up email.

NOTE: An earlier version of this post stated that Equity did not send additional information until 9:30 pm on December 16th. That has proven to be incorrect — management sent a second email, only to residents of the West building, at 11:58 am on that day. This second email stated:

As you are probably already aware we had a major mainline water leak that has caused significant water intrusion on the 10th floor. This affected the common hallways and stairwells areas as well as some apartments. The plumbing repairs are now complete and our team/contractors are working to access damage and start repairs.

Today, a service team member will inspect apartments in the affected areas (consisting of apartment numbers ending 5 through 21) between the 1st floor and the 10th floor. Should you notice any water damages in your home and your apartment number doesn't end in 5 through 21, please reach out and let us know so we can inspect your home as well.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We thank you for your understanding and patience during this time.

Another email was sent to residents of the West building at 8:25 am on Tuesday, December 17th. It stated that:

We wanted to provide an update regarding the work being completed in your home due to the water intrusion caused by a mainline pipe malfunction. Contractors will be back today to complete a moisture reading in the areas that were affected in your home. They will begin at 9 am until all apartments are completed. Once the readings are complete we will follow up with next steps.

Thank you for your patience.