After a long break due to COVID-19, members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association met in the courtyard at 3003 Van Ness to discuss pressing concerns about the building and future plans for the tenants association.
VNSTA receives rent records of Equity Residential properties via FOIA
The Van Ness South Tenants Association, representing the tenants of the apartments at 3003 Van Ness Street, NW, submitted on January 31, 2019, a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for rent records of seven properties owned or operated by Equity Residential Corporation or its affiliates. The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) processed the request, releasing data on February 21, 2019.
The records reveal that Equity Residential very likely has incorrectly reported the rents received on many of its apartments in rent stabilized buildings, vastly inflating many of the figures. At 3003 Van Ness, Equity was pressuring tenants into signing leases listing the “rent” as several hundred dollars or well over one thousand dollars higher than the amount actually received per month. Equity based annual increases on these inflated figures, breaking DC rental housing law.
The data can be found in three compressed files:
Tenants get an important win in court
On January 18, 2018, the DC Rental Housing Commission issued a ruling overturning a lower court order in the case of Gabriel Fineman v. Equity Residential.
VNSTA complains to DCRA and EPA about concrete dust at 3003
The tenants association submits several written complaints about Equity Residential’s failure to follow construction codes during repair of balconies at 3003, spewing fine concrete dust into the air and into many residents’ apartments.
The complaints are sent to the DC Department of Regulatory Affairs. DCRA eventually issues mild fines against Equity, which doesn’t correct its behavior until weeks later.