The district attorney of Washington, D.C., has filed a lawsuit against a district property management company after it allegedly facilitated a hostile housing environment that subjected Black women tenants “to persistent pervasive race-based and sex-based harassment, including threats of physical violence,” according to a news release from the district attorney’s office.
The civil complaint filed Jan. 31 states that UDR, Inc.’s refusal to take action to protect its tenants violated both the D.C. Human Rights Act, which serves to protect tenants against race and sex discrimination, and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, designed to shield tenants from deceptive housing practices.
The suit filed by Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb claims that UDR ignored months of complaints “and repeated pleas” about the behavior of another tenant of Waterside Towers Apartments, located in Ward 6 in the heart of Washington.
Waterside Towers is one of several apartment complexes managed by UDR across the United States, including some in the nation’s capital.
Gueorgui Iskrenov, described in the news release as a white male tenant, allegedly targeted abuse toward the Black women living in the towers.
“Residents in the District of Columbia are legally entitled to live in homes free of persistent, hostile, discriminatory behavior, and it is against the law for property managers to facilitate a hostile housing environment,” Schwalb said in a statement.
Atlanta Black Star has reached out to UDR for a comment.
Among the shocking complaints are UDR’s alleged refusal to take any action after “Iskrenov almost ran over a Black female tenant with his car,” allowing the abuse to continue, according to the district attorney’s office.
In February 2023, Iskrenov was found guilty of bias-related assault stemming from a hate crime involving him spitting in a female neighbor’s face, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
The victim, who is Black, was walking her service dog on the afternoon July 20, 2020, and as she crossed the exit ramp of her apartment complex, authorities say Iskrenov “drove his SUV up the exit ramp at a high rate of speed, almost hitting the victim and her dog,” according to a news release.
After the woman told him to be careful, Iskrenov started “screaming racist and sexist epithets” and then intentionally spat into her face, authorities said.
Evidence at trial showed the man had a history of racist behavior against Black neighbors.
“The attack on the tenant was so severe that Iskrenov was subsequently charged and convicted of a hate crime,” the release from the D.C. attorney general’s office stated.
At least two Black women independently notified the property management company about Iskrenov’s threats of physical violence as well as him “committing acts of physical violence against them and subjecting them to persistent racist and sexist harassment,” according to the release.
The D.C. attorney general’s office also accused UDR of subjecting its tenants to a hostile housing environment based on the tenants’ race and sex, and “deceiv(ing) Black female tenants with lease agreements that guaranteed their safety when in fact UDR facilitated an environment of persistent abuse and harassment.”
“Waterside Towers tenants made every effort to alert UDR leadership of Gueorgui Iskrenov’s disgusting, hateful and dangerous behavior, and yet UDR stood by silently as its tenants suffered pervasive, traumatizing harassment,” Schwalb said in a statement. “The Office of the Attorney General will continue to aggressively enforce laws designed to protect tenants from such egregious misconduct.”
The attorney general’s office is seeking a court order forcing the company to take measures that ensure its tenants can live in their apartments without facing threats of harassment or abuse.
The lawsuit also seeks monetary damages for harms caused by the company’s violations of the D.C. Human Rights Act and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
