Court Finds D.C. Landlord Kept Apartments In State That Posed 'Serious Threat' To Tenants

A landlord has been found responsible for thousands of housing code and lead violations across 123 apartments in Northwest and Southeast D.C. 

Judge Yvonne Williams of the D.C. Superior Court found Adolphe Edwards, owner of A.J. Edwards Realty, liable for fire, safety, plumbing, water damage and cleanliness violations and for misrepresenting the conditions to tenants.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office sued Edwards in June 2022 for “long-term mismanagement and illegal conditions” at the properties, the order said. Schwalb posted the judge's order, which was dated Sept. 19, on social media platform X Monday, saying the landlord was found with over 8,400 housing code violations. 

“There was a pattern over a number of years of an owner just grossly neglecting conditions at two properties, defying infraction notices from District agencies,” Assistant Deputy Attorney General Beth Mellen, who works in the office’s public advocacy division, told Bisnow.

Edwards' attorneys didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. 

Edwards is the longtime owner of nine buildings grouped together into two properties: one in Brightwood at 13th Street and Missouri Avenue NW and the other in Ward 8's Alabama Avenue SE, near the Maryland border.  

The Alabama property was sold while subject to receivership in December, and its new owner has plans for a $4M “full-gut” rehabilitation, according to the order. Edwards is seeking a buyer for the Missouri Avenue property through bankruptcy court, Mellen told Bisnow. 

“The Properties have been in decline for an extended period, posing a serious threat to tenants’ health, safety, and security,” the order says. 

The violations at the two properties include over 100 areas of chipping and peeling paint hazards, water damage and plumbing leaks, fire and safety violations — including broken smoke detectors, defective electrical panels, broken windows — “unsanitary conditions in the common areas” and inadequate heating and missing entry door locks.

Edwards was notified of the violations and ordered to eliminate hazards but failed to correct them, the court found.

It also found that Edwards didn't provide required disclosures and reports about lead paint hazards to tenants. The violations have affected more than 100 residents, Schwalb said on X. 

The order says Edwards collected over $1M in rent from tenants while the conditions were present, but the sum is likely much higher. 

"Now, we will brief Superior Court on the appropriate penalties and restitution for harmed tenants because of these violations," Schwalb posted on X. 

Holding landlords accountable for violating housing laws was a priority under the previous attorney general, Mellen told Bisnow, and continues to be a main focus under Schwalb. 

The office has cases against 674-unit Marbury Plaza in Southeast, 76-unit Foster House in Shaw and 129-unit King Towers near Logan Circle in active litigation. 

It settled a case against 410-unit Mayfair Mansions in Ward 7 for just north of $1M in April. Last September, it also settled a $2M case against the owners and manager of two Ward 8 properties — Atlantic Terrace and Southern Hills.

“Unfortunately, we continue to see a number of owners of rental properties in the District who aren't complying with the law and need this accountability to be brought to bear,” Mellen said. “So I think the numbers reflect the reality that we have a lot of families, far too many families in the district, living in poor housing conditions where enforcement by our office is needed to change that situation.”