Paula White moved into her house seven years ago. It wasn’t until new management took over three years ago that everything began to crumble, she said.

“I put in work orders but nothing gets done the proper way,” White said.

Water damage in the walls has led to mold growth, to the point where she had to rush her grandson to the hospital.

“The rats are worse,” said White, who explained that the tall shrubs in front of her window have also impeded air flow into the unit. “They are not taking care of the grounds. We look like we live in a jungle.”

White is one of more than a dozen tenants of Sharp Leadenhall Apartments in South Baltimore who filed a lawsuit Tuesday against their landlord and management companies, HVPG and FPI, alleging severe and pervasive insect and rodent infestations, ineffective trash collection and removal, structural damage, mold problems and security hazards.

The complaint also raises allegations of lease violations at the 192-unit apartment complex due to tenants’ inability to access the laundry room, which is only available Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:40 p.m., and the community room, which has a hole in the wall and is filled with bulk trash.

“HVPG is dedicated to ensuring our residents enjoy safe, clean, and well-maintained homes,” said the Hudson Valley Property Group, one of the apartments’ owners, in a statement. “We encourage all residents to share their concerns and submit work orders, allowing us to make timely corrections and maintain the quality of our community.”

At a community-led news conference Wednesday morning at St. Barnabas and St. Susanna Coptic Orthodox Church, only a few blocks from the apartment buildings, a handful of tenants and several neighbors shared their concerns.

“I am appalled by the condition the apartments are in,” said Betty Bland-Thomas, community president for Historic Sharp Leadenhall. “They are paying rent and doing their part. We want the owners and management to do their part.”

Tenants not involved in the lawsuit emphasized the problems in the buildings and management’s lack of action.

Janasia Benson, who was at the conference but is not one of the tenants suing, moved into one of the units three years ago. Since January, she has been unable to enter her home due to the rat and roach infestation, she said.

Another tenant who attended the conference but is not in the lawsuit, Peter Sulewski, said he has had leaks in the kitchen and trouble with his front door and a faulty air conditioner that he has submitted various work orders for.

“They never did anything or they never fixed anything right,” Sulewski said. “Guess who fixed my air conditioner? Me.”

Sulewski said he originally chose to rent an apartment at the complex because he thought it would be quiet and clean, but it “turned out to be a living nightmare.”

Baltimore City Council Member Zac Blanchard, who represents the South Baltimore neighborhood, called conditions at the apartment complex “absurd.” He said at the conference that there needs to be a greater focus on fixing the substandard living conditions in affordable housing.

Staff members from Maryland Legal Aid, which is assisting tenants in the legal action, said the lawsuit is being filed under the Tenant Safety Act of 2024.

The goal of the law is to hold housing providers accountable if they fail to make repairs in tenants’ living quarters in circumstances that threaten their health and safety. Under this act, multiple tenants with the same problems can file a single rent escrow case, get reduced rent until repairs are made and recover attorneys’ fees if they win.

This is only the second case using the Tenant Safety Act of 2024 brought to action in Baltimore, according to Zafar Shah, advocacy director for human right to housing at Maryland Legal Aid.

“They are suing for accountability, not for a payday,” Shah said.

Caroline Tripp, a staff attorney at Maryland Legal Aid, said she’s communicated with management at the apartments various times. She had filed individual tenants’ complaints, specifically addressing the landlord’s lack of a license on parts of the property.

The property management company did not respond to an email seeking comment.

The landlord had a license on only two of the four sections of the property. Since then, their remaining two licenses are pending revocation.

The complaint acknowledges the meeting between the Tenant Council, which is a group of residents in the apartment complex that funnels the concerns, and management in April.

The 192-unit apartment complex was built in 1980, but went through extensive renovations in 2008.

Baltimore’s Sharp Leadenhall is a predominantly Black neighborhood that has historically fought discriminatory housing policies. In 2023, residents of the neighborhood protested a zoning change from a real estate developer, presented without community involvement or commitment to affordability, that would have allowed a new apartment complex at 810 Leadenhall St.

Legacy residents in the historic Baltimore neighborhood have also raised concerns about being priced out and advocated for affordable housing.

“This is bringing awareness to a lot of things going on behind the scenes,” Benson said.