Veteran and Disabled Senior Tenants File Lawsuit Against Landlords Running Unlicensed, Dangerous Properties in Baltimore City, Maryland

Maryland Legal Aid (MLA) filed a lawsuit in Baltimore City Circuit Court on behalf of senior citizens, many of whom are disabled and one who is a veteran, who lives in unlicensed properties with numerous housing code violations owned and/or managed by the Defendants, Reginald, and Marguerite Daniels Housing for the Elderly, Bellevue-Manchester Limited Partnership, and The Towner Management Company, Inc.

The complaint alleges that the Defendants, who own and manage subsidized rental properties in Baltimore City, do not have valid rental licenses for their rental properties as required by local law and that they have been illegally collecting rent.

Further, the rental properties have numerous safety and housing code violations including rodent infestation, water damage, dry rotted bathrooms, mold, defective appliances, peeling paint, and dangerous fire hazards. The Defendants knew and have known about these unsafe and unhealthy conditions, but they have not taken action to fix the problems. This has left vulnerable, low-income senior residents to endure sleepless nights and ongoing worries. The complaint also alleges the Defendants violated the Maryland ConsumerA state or federal law designed to protect consumers against improperly described, damaged, faulty, and dangerous goods and services as well as from unfair trade and credit practices. Including Legal Issues like: bankruptcy, collections, garnishment and repossession. Protection Act as well as the Maryland Fair Debt CollectionTo collect a debt or obtain payment; To recover goods sold on credit or in installments when the buyer fails to pay for them. Act by seeking and collecting rent on their unlicensed properties to which they were not entitled by law.

As a result of the Defendants’ conduct, the senior citizens, many of whom are disabled, who live in Defendants’ properties, have suffered depression, anxiety, panic attacks, loss of appetite, medical expenses, fear of being in the home, and hypertension. The awful living conditions these residents, the plaintiffs in this case, have had to deal with on a daily basis have exacerbated the residents’ health issues including one plaintiff who has cancer and has experienced heightened stress, depression, anxiety, and other emotional and mental distress.

Attorney for Maryland Legal Aid’s Baltimore City Office Kyle Coleman says, “Our clients look forward to holding these landlords accountable for ignoring the local rental license law and for not providing the decent and safe housing every Baltimore resident is entitled to.”

All Defendants are aware that – due to the income limitations under which all of the low-income residents live, they have few if any options. The low-income residents are highly unlikely to secure alternative safe, decent, and licensed housing in the private rental market. Consequently, all of the Plaintiffs have been and continue to be held captive to the Defendants’ dangerous and illegal practices and forced to live in substandard housing.

Read the Complaint here.

Contact Jennifer Lavella, Director of Marketing and Communications at jlavella@mdlab.org for more information or to request an interview.