A D.C. judge ordered a landlord to pay almost $7 million in fines and rent refunds after the D.C. attorney general sued for violating housing codes.
Residents spent years living with issues like mold, rats, sewage leaks, crumbling walls and ceilings, and toxic lead contamination.
Landlord Adolphe Edwards owned nine apartment buildings in the District that had deplorable conditions, according to the lawsuit by the attorney general’s office.
A tenant told News4 through a translator the conditions were an abuse and building managers would often promise to fix things but never follow through.
According to the attorney general’s office, Edwards violated D.C. housing code more than 1,400 times and lead paint laws more than 7,200 times.
“When you see these types of conditions that people are living in, it’s heart rending. It’s unacceptable,” D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb said. “These are inhumane, deplorable conditions and why it’s been such a priority for me and my office to hold slumlords like this accountable.”
Under the order from D.C. Superior Court, Edwards must pay $1.5 million in rent refunds to his tenants and another $5 million in fines.
The D.C. attorney general said Edwards has since declared bankruptcy and is selling the buildings to pay off his debts. Apartments on Alabama Avenue have already been sold and appear to have been renovated.
As for Edwards’ buildings on Missouri Avenue, renters say the repairs are still in progress and can’t come soon enough.
News4 left Edwards a voicemail Tuesday but hasn’t heard back. A man who identified himself as the property manager for the Missouri Avenue buildings declined to go on camera but blamed the tenants for the poor conditions, alleging they haven’t been paying rent.
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