One month after a gas explosion, residents of an apartment building in Washington DC are still unable to return home

Dozens of families have been left homeless since a gas explosion rocked an apartment building in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC last month. Now they have been told they cannot return until the gas lines in the building are repaired.

The explosion in the private, rent-controlled building on the morning of September 20 left one woman seriously injured and left 38 units in the building uninhabitable. After the explosion, Brian Hanlon, director of the district’s building department, said some major repairs were needed to get the building’s gas service back on track.

“The repairs required would be quite extensive and require some invasive work, demolition of walls and replacement of pipes,” Hanlon said.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation and Hanlon said it is not known whether the identified problems with the gas lines were due to the explosion or not. He said there had been “very few” complaints about the property.

“I want to emphasize that while it is the responsibility of the owner and the landlord to maintain the building and its proper operating condition, it is also the owner’s duty to ensure that their systems and infrastructure are safe,” Hanlon said .

Johanna Shreve, D.C.’s lead tenant attorney, said the city is helping to house the 100 people who lived in the building and will do so through Oct. 11. After this date, residents will be forced to look for other accommodation.

Shreve said tenants will be provided boxes, tape, tags and other assistance to secure their personal belongings and move them to storage.

The city said the building was built in 1926 and is a rent-controlled housing development, so residents could return after repairs are completed and not have to pay rent in the meantime.

Hanlon said the property’s owners, Hermania and John Steininger, were “very unresponsive.”

WTOP reached out to Hermania Steininger, and a woman who identified herself as Steininger said she has a contractor and “people are working on that” before ending the call.

Hanlon added that the building owner has been issued a “corrective order” and has seven days to submit the plan to remediate the property to the city. Otherwise, the city attorney general’s office could take action against the owner.

The city also said the property is in receivership as tax sale litigation continues in D.C. Superior Court. It is unclear what impact this might have on the repairs being carried out.

If repairs are not made to the building or the tax sale is successful, Shreve said it is possible the building could lose its rent-controlled status with new owners.

Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.

© 2024 WTOP. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users within the European Economic Area.