Attorney General Schwalb Sues Landlord for Dangerous Housing Conditions and Illegal Retaliation Against Tenants

Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today sued the owners and managers of two apartment buildings in Ward 4’s Brightwood neighborhood for allowing conditions at the properties to severely deteriorate and for retaliating against tenants who have advocated for the conditions to be fixed.  

An investigation by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found evidence of acute and long-running housing code violations at 1355 Peabody Street NW and 6000 13th Street NW, both of which are owned by Saifur Khan and Monna Khan through two companies, 16th St. Heights Aaron LLC and Ahmed Inc. According to OAG’s lawsuit, tenants at both buildings have been forced to live with dangerous and illegal conditions, including heating outages lasting days or weeks in the middle of winter, chronic infestations of bedbugs, cockroaches, and mice, and broken walls, floors, ceilings, and appliances. OAG’s lawsuit also describes how the buildings’ owners have harassed and retaliated against tenants for organizing and advocating for urgently needed repairs.

“Every DC resident deserves a safe, healthy place to call home, and when tenants advocate for better living conditions, it is illegal for landlords to retaliate against them,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “The owners and managers of these properties have flouted DC law for years, collecting rent while forcing their tenants to live in squalor. At a time when the District is facing a housing affordability crisis, my office will continue to protect our existing housing supply.”

“For years, tenants at 1355 Peabody Street and 6000 13th Street have organized, spoken out, and demanded the safe, dignified housing they deserve,” said Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. “No family should have to endure prolonged outages, pest infestations, unsafe conditions, or retaliation simply for advocating for basic repairs. I appreciate Attorney General Schwalb’s action to hold these landlords accountable and to protect tenants’ rights to organize without fear of intimidation. Ward 4 residents deserve safe homes, and landlords who fail to meet their legal obligations must be held responsible.”

“This case shows that retaliating against tenants for reporting poor housing conditions to our agency, or exercising any other lawful right, is illegal in the District, and we will work with our agency partners like OAG to keep that from happening,” said Department of Buildings Director Brian Hanlon. “All District communities are safer when tenants, landlords, and District agencies communicate openly to solve housing problems.”

1355 Peabody St NW and 6000 13th St NW are multifamily residential buildings located one block apart in Ward 4’s Brightwood neighborhood. The buildings contain a total of 96 apartments and are home to a deeply rooted community of tenants, some of whom have lived there for more than a decade.

OAG’s investigation and inspections by the Department of Buildings (DOB) have documented extensive and dangerous property maintenance and housing code violations throughout the two buildings dating back to at least 2022. Despite receiving notice on multiple occasions from OAG, DOB, and tenants themselves, the Khans and their companies have allowed unsafe, unsanitary, and unlawful conditions to persist. 

OAG’s lawsuit alleges that the Khans and their companies have violated DC housing and consumer protection laws by:

• Allowing conditions at the apartment buildings to deteriorate so severely that they threaten the health and safety of tenants. Serious and chronic issues at the property include:
  • Heating outages lasting days or even weeks in the middle of winter at both properties.
  • Chronic infestations of mice, cockroaches, and bedbugs.
  • Broken and unsecured doors and windows.
  • Damaged walls, ceilings, floors, and appliances.
  • Fire-safety and electrical hazards, including lack of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, exposed wiring, and electrical equipment exposed to water.
     

• Threatening, intimidating, and harassing tenants for exercising their legal right to organize and advocate for safe housing. Tenants at the two buildings have long advocated for necessary repairs to be made in their homes, eventually forming a single tenants’ association for the two properties. In response, the Khans and their agents have threatened to call the police if tenants held meetings, issued eviction notices to the president and vice president of the tenants’ association days after they helped to organize OAG visits, and played loud music to drown out tenants’ voices when they held a rally to speak out about how the dangerous conditions were impacting their health. The Khans also warned tenants not to allow OAG staff into their units and pressured them to stop working with volunteer tenant organizers.

With its lawsuit, OAG is seeking to address the property maintenance and housing code violations at the buildings, restitution and damages for harmed tenants, and civil penalties.

The complaint is available at this link.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorneys General Brendan Downes and Camila Ramirez, Assistant Chief of the Housing and Environmental Justice Section Michael Maurer, and Section Chief Joanna Wasik.
 

OAG’s Enforcement Authority
OAG exercises its enforcement authority under several District statutes and regulations to protect tenants, including the Tenant Receivership Act and the Construction Codes, which gives OAG authority to force landlords to fix health and safety issues at rental properties, and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which protects consumers—including tenants—from deceptive and unfair business practices.

Resources for Tenants
OAG works to ensure that residents across the District have access to safe and affordable housing and holds landlords accountable if they violate the law. Access OAG’s resources to help renters for guidance on how to report problems with your landlord or your housing conditions. Tenants may send complaints about your housing conditions to HousingJustice@dc.gov.