At least 35 families at 1355 Peabody St. NW are now withholding their rent to protest what they call inhumane living conditions, after similar efforts in other nearby buildings led to a $2 million settlement agreement.

Tenants at the Buena Vista Apartments have been on a rent strike since May 2020. When speculators showed interest in redeveloping their building, they began using the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act to try and purchase it themselves.

The residents all live in Southern Towers, an apartment complex where hundreds of tenants have been on a rent strike since April. 

More than 100 eviction cases have been filed against renters at a single property, according to housing activists.

These hearings are part of the process of evicting tenants, but both sides are given an opportunity to work out their dispute before a ruling is issued.

Tenants in the Brightwood Park building have complained of rat and mouse infestations, pervasive mold growth, and waterlogged ceilings.

“The landlord has changed, they’ve sold the building to numerous companies, and nothing changes—the managers just come, they don’t fix anything, and they just collect our rent,” says one tenant.

Tenants have described leaking ceilings, mold growth, and vermin infestations at the building.

Residents say they’re living with leaking ceilings, vermin infestations, and mold.