Attorney General Schwalb Holds Property Manager Accountable for Facilitating Hostile Housing Environment for Black Female Tenants

Settlement Requires UDR to Retrain Staff and Gives OAG Oversight of Future Discrimination Complaints at Waterside Towers


Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb today announced that UDR, Inc. (UDR), the property manager for Waterside Towers Apartments in Ward 6, will pay $50,000 in penalties and reform its business practices to resolve claims that the company facilitated a hostile housing environment for Black women – including one incident for which a tenant was convicted of a hate crime.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) sued UDR in 2024, alleging that Black female tenants at UDR’s property were subjected to persistent and pervasive race- and sex-based harassment, including acts of physical violence, in violation of the DC Human Rights Act (DCHRA) and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA). Now, under the terms of the parties’ consent judgment (which is still subject to court approval), UDR must adopt new policies to identify and respond to complaints of tenant-on-tenant harassment, must re-train all staff and employees on federal and local fair housing and anti-discrimination protections and must report any complaints alleging illegal discrimination or harassment of tenants at Waterside Towers to OAG for the next three years. UDR must also pay $50,000 in penalties to the District. UDR has reached a separate financial settlement with two tenants who directly experienced harassment and abuse.

“UDR, in violation of DC law, allowed a hostile housing environment to persist at Waterside Towers. Despite being on notice, UDR refused to protect tenants from harassment, abuse, and threats on the basis of being Black women,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “The Office of the Attorney General remains committed to enforcing the law, protecting tenants, and using our independent authority to ensure that every Washingtonian has a safe place to call home.”

UDR manages apartment complexes across the country, including several in the District of Columbia. On multiple occasions, at least two Black female tenants at Waterside Towers independently notified UDR that a white male tenant—Gueorgui Iskrenov—was threatening them with physical violence, committing acts of physical violence against them, and subjecting them to persistent racist and sexist harassment. The tenants repeatedly requested help, but even after a particularly dangerous attack—during which Iskrenov nearly ran over another tenant with a car, yelled racist and sexist epithets, and spat in her face at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic—UDR refused to take action. That incident led to Iskrenov being charged and convicted of a hate crime.

OAG filed suit against UDR, alleging that the company subjected tenants to a hostile housing environment on the basis of race and sex in violation of the DCHRA. A hostile housing environment exists when an individual is subjected to unwelcome conduct based on a protected trait that is severe or pervasive enough to interfere with the use or enjoyment of a living space. OAG also alleged that UDR failed to provide a safe, livable housing environment for tenants in violation of DC’s consumer protection law.

Now, under the terms of the consent judgment, UDR must:

  • Provide mandatory fair housing training to all DC workers. UDR must provide annual anti-discrimination training for employees at its DC properties for the next three years. The training must include information about the federal Fair Housing Act, the DCHRA, and addressing tenant-to-tenant harassment. UDR must certify its compliance with this requirement to OAG on an annual basis.
     
  • Maintain new policies addressing tenant-on-tenant harassment. UDR has adopted and must maintain policies and practices for identifying and responding to complaints of harassment of residents by residents.
     
  • Promptly resolve future harassment or discrimination claims involving tenants at Waterside Towers, and report on the claims and the resolution to OAG. For the next three years, UDR must notify OAG of any complaints involving tenant-to-tenant harassment or discrimination to OAG, and report to OAG how the complaint was resolved.
     
  • Pay $50,000 in penalties to DC.

As part of a separate agreement, UDR has agreed to provide financial compensation directly to two tenants subjected to harassment and abuse from Iskrenov.

A copy of the consent judgment is available here. 

This matter was handled by Assistant Attorney General Griffin Simpson, with assistance from Assistant Attorney General Jess Feinberg and Civil Rights & Elder Justice Section Chief Alicia M. Lendon.

 

Report Discrimination

District residents who believe that they have experienced housing discrimination, or any other form of discrimination, may report it to OAG’s Civil Rights & Elder Justice Section by:

  • Calling (202) 727-3400
  • E-mailing OAGCivilRights@dc.gov
  • Mailing OAG, ATTN: Civil Rights & Elder Justice Section at 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001

OAG’s civil rights work complements the work of the District’s Office of Human Rights (OHR), which is the primary District agency that investigates individual discrimination complaints. You can file a complaint with OHR at ohr.dc.gov/service/file-discrimination-complaint or call 202-727-4559.