D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has filed a suit against a “slumlord” who is accused of leaving residents of two apartment complexes living in rat and roach-infested squalor while collecting thousands of dollars in rent from housing vouchers.
Tenants of two housing complexes — one on W Street in Southeast D.C. and the other on Minnesota Avenue in Northeast D.C. — lived in conditions that “pose an imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of tenants,” according to a news release from Schwalb’s office.
The two lawsuits, both filed by Schwalb’s office on Aug. 30, allege property owner Ali “Sam” Razjooyan bought up apartment complexes in D.C., severely neglected maintenance, performed unsafe and illegal construction projects and collected “lucrative, guaranteed rents from the District” under the Rapid Re-Housing voucher program, which provides short-term subsidies to D.C. residents experiencing homelessness.
“Razjooyan’s business model involves forcing tenants to live in deplorable, unsafe, horrific conditions that are shocking to the conscience,” Schwalb said in a statement. “No District resident should have to endure such treatment. ”
One of the lawsuits relates to a 32-unit rent-controlled apartment complex on W Street, which Razjooyan purchased in 2020, according to the lawsuit.
In the suit, the attorney general’s office alleges that conditions have become so bad there that they “shock even seasoned housing investigators.”
In December 2020, an entire building was cited by the D.C. Department of Buildings as “unfit for human occupancy” because of a rat infestation.
Beginning in November 2022, investigators with the attorney general’s office visited the property three different times, where they found infestations of mice, roaches and spiders.
“During one inspection, an OAG Investigator observed roaches in nearly every room, saw roaches crawling near her shoes, and experienced a spider dropping on her head,” the lawsuit stated.
During a return visit a few months later, the investigator turned up “substantial dead bugs, a dead rodent, and mouse droppings,” as well as trash accumulating outside the property, according to the lawsuit.
In addition to Razjooyan, the lawsuit names 1644 W Street DE, LLC and Geneva Holding Trust.
A second lawsuit is related to conditions at the Minnesota Commons housing complex on Minnesota Avenue in Northeast D.C.
In that 83-unit complex, made up of 11 residential buildings, most residents have moved out, but about 15 units remain occupied — mostly by seniors who have lived there for many years, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit said trash is piling up and many exterior doors do not have locks.
“Several doors are completely hanging from the hinges. Every building has broken
windows, and some window frames are empty — no glass, board, or any other covering,” the lawsuit stated.
Razjooyan is part of corporate group that purchased the property in April 2024. In addition to Razjooyan, the lawsuit names Oscar Portillo Padilla, 4069-4089 Minnesota Ave NE LLC, U.S. Realty LLC, and Elite Residential Services LLC as defendants.
Schwalb said Razjooyan falsely certified that his properties were up to code, and collected up to $19,000 per month from D.C.’s Department of Human Services under the Rapid Re-Housing Program.
Schwalb’s office is asking a judge to order Razjooyan’s companies to make repairs, as well as ordering restitution for residents who were forced to live in the dangerous conditions, penalties for violating the housing code and for a judge to appoint a receiver to make necessary repairs.
A court hearing on the case has been set for Dec. 13.
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