Fairmont Gardens tenants lack heat
With temperatures dropping into the single digits tonight, many residents of the Fairmont Gardens apartments in Annandale have no heat.
It’s been an ongoing problem. Katy Richman, the principal of Woodburn Elementary School, has been reporting concerns about the lack of heat at Fairmont Gardens since November.
About 200 Woodburn students live in the complex. “They deserve and are entitled to heat,” Richman wrote in an email to Donaldson Management. “This is not okay and I will be fighting for every family until you fix the heat for all tenants.”
The lack of heat is “pretty widespread, but it’s not the whole complex,” she said.
Terry Angelotti of FACETS reported to Donaldson on Dec. 23 that the hot water, as well as heat, is off in some of the apartments. “With the extreme cold predicted for this weekend, we expect the problem will be resolved today or alternate lodgings will be provided by the management.”
Related story: Squalid conditions at Fairmont Gardens aired in court
Nady Peralta, senior supervising attorney with the Legal Aid Justice Center, noted that the lack of heat is due to new HVAC units being installed in some buildings. “However, the problem is not confined to those buildings being updated, with some tenants saying their access to heat has been intermittent at best over the last few months.”
“This is a breach of landlord’s duty and a serious health issue going into a cold long weekend,” Peralta wrote in an email to Donaldson. She asked the managers what resources they are providing to tenants to mitigate the problem, such as space heaters, temporary transfers, hotel placement, or rent abatement.
According to the Fairfax County Consumer Services Division, it’s a violation of the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code if landlords fail to provide heat or hot water between Oct. 15 and May 1.
A story on NBC4 quotes Fairmont Gardens tenant Dorian Johnson, who says she can’t remember the last time heat in her apartment worked. She uses space heaters to keep her children warm.
Johnson plans to move out, but another tenant, Jose Hernandez, said he can’t afford to live anywhere else, so he and his son keep themselves wrapped up in blankets.
In response to the complaints, Joana Henriques, the Fairmont Gardens property manager, promised to have the heating problem fixed on Thursday, but it was still out in some units of as of Friday night. The lines probably need to be bled so residents can have heat, she said.
Richman said the problems at Fairmont Gardens have gotten worse since the Donaldson Group purchased the complex two years ago. Last summer, the air conditioning wasn’t working in some units. In November she reported broken washers and dryers, as well as the lack of heat.
Estos apartamentos es un desastre total no hay calefacción no hay agua caliente el motor del labamanos de la cosina tiene 5 meses q no sirve nunca lo vinieron a arreglar las londris un desastre hay muchas ratas.. yo tengo la estufa encendida para que caliente el apartamento.. y estoy pagando 2000.200 dólares de renta el apartamento de dos cuartos demasiada renta y para no ser bien tratados muy mala atención aca en los faermons gardent
María, lamento mucho que todo esto esté pasando, ¡te mereces algo mejor! Espero que las cosas mejoren pronto. Por favor, manténgase seguro.
Stop using fossil fuels to heat yourself! Use solar and wear a jacket
Terrible solution. The apartments use what is available an reliable.
This is horrible. What is the most effective way to impact the quickest resolution of this atrocity?
If heat is part of the rental contract, then there is a legal path to a solution. That doesn’t mean someone can flip a switch to fix the heating (aka what it seems the local principal thinks or wants).
I hope this can be fixed soon, but approach of principal is unacceptable, unprofessional and unnecessary. Moreover it is outside her authority as a country employee.
Doubt much of a profit margin on the complex. Look at challenges. Which can complicate maintaining the systems & the complex.
Crazy county property tax (recall county politicians lowering the milage rate this year, knowing full and well assessments went up due to pandemic & they didn’t want to fully maximize the Govt windfall as “greed” but still took a partial windfall). Rents range from $1,500 to $3,600 a month. Low end studio/1 bedroom with 1 bath, & high end 3 bedroom. This is cheaper housing in the NoVa area (more affordable and typically older). Moreover look at crime reports and there is most often something happening very near nearby.
And that is just the apparent issues.
Gosh, I don’t want to think what other requirements the landlord has to do/provide & hope to have a successful business.
Now a paid county employee (school principal who most likely never ran a successful private sector business) is making threats/ demands. Not helpful nor appropriate. I hope her professional liability insurance covers this.
As a caring person responsible for the education and well being of her students she is shining a light on an atrocious slumlord. I appldaud and fully support her. The County should designate the buildings uninhabitable and assist the residents in moving.
“They deserve and are entitled to heat.”
No they are not. The Constitution does not guarantee either of these things.
Ok, Scrooge. Praying for your evil soul along with prayers for those people to get heat and hot water. No one wants your sarcasm or hot takes on the Constitution here. There are Qanon forums for that.
I hope that you are trolling.
Nice one Greg! You low life idiot
Well, the usual suspects of this website turn right to ad hominem when they realize they are wrong. Kudos Greg for pointing out the slippery slope that everyone else slipped on.
Yes, they are. Heat is an “essential service” guaranteed by the Code of Virginia.
Agree the Constitution does not guarantee heat. However, state and county ordinances do, along with, at least in most agreements, the lease. Conformance with building codes is a law. Chill GF.
What a disgrace. Fairmont Gardens the neighboring garden apartment complexes are nothing but slums. What to do about that is a topic for another day. I hope that by now, all the tenants in Fairmont Gardens have had their heat restored and that the County has taken steps to deal with the slumlords who own it. No one should have to live in such conditions.
The lines need to be bled sounds like very old steam heat lines. Should have been checked and repairs done earlier in the season. No excuse not to provide alternatives to residents without heat. It is indeed against the law The school principle is just trying to do her job in making sure her pupils have what they need in order to be able to learn. Lack of heat means that they cannot concentrate on anything except keeping warm.
I hope it gets resolved very soon these next few weeks are gonna be nothing but harsh cold, damn I hate this board they really don’t give a dang about the poverty and low income places in what’s supposed to be “the best place to raise a family” North Virginia is just a petty lie made by “Top officials” once u see all this unnecessary struggle in Culmore and even in Annandale and far more other places that could be resolved very quick if the right people get there minds to it. The west side (the apartment side of Annandale) is really just harsh to see sometimes.
Is there an organized group that is accepting donations for space heaters in this apt complex?
Legal Aid Justice Center, 6402 Arlington Blvd #1130, will be accepting donated space heaters starting January 3. The number is 703-778-3450.
They have space heaters provided by the property management company and the still whine and complain……..
I used to live there. The heat, hot water, and a AC rarely work. When I called to complain: the reason was always a pipe broke or the switch on the furnace turned off. This is not a new issue, it is a continuous issue.
Maybe if the landlord fixes the heat, she’ll have to raise the rent, and tenants won’t be able to afford the rent, and will be experiencing homelessness. This could be a case of “careful what you wish for.”
By law, heat is a required service. Anyone paying rent right now is paying for a service they are entitled to, but are not getting.
The owner is paying the property management company who is paying the HVAC company to fix the heat. Everyone is paying for a service they are entitled to but not getting. Should everyone sue each other when they don’t get what they want, exactly when they want it? Or should we occasionally suck it up buttercup?
To answer your questions, they absolutely could go around suing each other if they wanted, though that’s not really a solution. And tenants should absolutely not “suck it up” that there is no heat in the winter. It was below freezing last weekend. Heat is an essential service and a health and safety concern, not just an issue of convenience or comfort.
Your suggestion is silly and hateful, but it’s also off-point. NOVA prices was saying that the rent could go up if the property fixes the heat, and I was responding that people are already paying for it. Nobody was talking about suing anyone.
Look at the lease. If it says that heat is not part of the agreement, then it is shady business practices at best. But what landlord does not guarantee heat? A bad one. Move out folks!
Horrible human beings managing or I should say not managing that slum. Taking advantage of the unfortunate is truly a mortal sin. I hope that property manager lands in hell!
County needs to relocate the residents and bulldoze that place.
I broke my lease in Dec 2021 because of this and the rodent problem they had. They tried to take me to collections I challenged and they gave up. Not only heat but the air conditioner didn’t work in the summer. Roaches, the amenities like the washer dryer didn’t work and stole your money, and rats running in the open in daylight.