Attorney General Racine Secures Restitution for Residents of Third Apartment Complex Where Illegal Hotel Rooms Operated

Settlement is Part of a Suit to Stop Unlawful Rentals that Reduce Affordable Housing Supply

WASHINGTON, D. C. – Attorney General Karl A. Racine announced today that his office has reached a settlement that will provide restitution to long-term residents of an apartment building where the management company and owner allowed two short-term-rental firms to illegally operate apartments like hotel rooms. The agreement with T-C Mass Court LLC (“T-C”) and Greystar RS NE, LLC (“Greystar”) arises out of a larger lawsuit that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) brought earlier this year against those entities, as well as Ginosi USA Corporation (“Ginosi”); its owner, Eric Ginosian; and the owners and managers of three other apartment complexes in the District. Attorney General Racine is seeking to stop the alleged illegal activity, which reduces the supply of affordable apartments available to District residents, and to recover unpaid taxes, restitution, penalties, and costs from the defendants. OAG has now successfully settled with four defendants in the case and obtained restitution for long-term tenants in each of those settlements.

“My office continues to use all of the tools available to us to preserve affordable housing for District residents, including cracking down on companies that seek to create short-term rental enterprises that ignore District regulations,” said Attorney General Racine.

The settlement resolves the suit’s claims involving the owner and operator of an apartment building in Ward 6: Mass Court, at 300 Massachusetts Avenue NW.  The owner (T-C) and operator (Greystar) of Mass Court allowed Ginosi to operate 11 short-term rentals in the building since 2014, and a second company, Revestment LLC, to operate another 7 short-term rental units in the building. In the District’s complaint, OAG alleged that T-C and Greystar partnered with Ginosi to operate these illegal short-term rentals. During the course of the litigation, OAG learned that Revestment also operated short-term rentals at Mass Court and ensured that the settlement included restitution for consumers who made complaints against rentals operated by Ginosi or Revestment.

As part of the agreement, T-C and Greystar agreed to:

  • Take steps to terminate all leases with Ginosi and Revestment;
  • Cease engaging in any further business or partnerships that sell illegal short-term rentals;
  • Pay restitution to the long-term tenants who have lodged a complaint regarding any short-term renter associated with Ginosi or Revestment before the signing of the settlement. These eligible tenants will receive $50 a month for every month the short-term rental entity occupied the premises, starting from the date of their complaint.
  • Pay the District penalties and costs of $50,000.

A copy of the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance that OAG reached with the T-C and Greystar defendants is attached. A copy of the original lawsuit and associated documents is available here.

Consumers who have complaints concerning Ginosi rentals or other short-term rentals may contact OAG’s Office of Consumer Protection at (202) 442-9892.