The RAD Form 9's in this directory are the result of a Freedon of Information Act request by Harry Gurel, President of the Van Ness South Tenant Association. __________________________ ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Wilson, Timothy J. (DHCD) Date: Fri, Jan 13, 2017 at 6:11 PM Subject: RE: Rent control violations -- FOIA requesting RAD-9 forms submitted by Equity Residential for 3003 Van Ness To: Harry Gural Please select the link below and find a partial listing of documents regarding your request: 2017-FOIA-00710 https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B481R4a9zPlibXJEMHpNeWpqcHM?usp=sharing I hope this is helpful. Best regards… Tim Wilson From: Harry Gural [mailto:harrygural@gmail.com] Sent: Wednesday, January 11, 2017 9:52 AM To: Nguyen, Thang (OCTO-Contractor) Cc: Anderson, Keith (DHCD); Wilson, Timothy J. (DHCD); Anita Bonds; Barry Weiss; Pelletiere, Danilo (DHCD) Subject: Fwd: Rent control violations -- FOIA requesting RAD-9 forms submitted by Equity Residential for 3003 Van Ness Mr. Nguyen, Thank you for your email regarding my FOIA request, 2017-FOIA-00710. As you know, the information was due mid-December. As I stated in my previous email, this information is important for my court hearing at the OAH this Friday, Jan. 13, at 9:30 am. I understand that you may not have completed assembling the information requested. Please send what you do have ASAP, with priority to the most recent material. I think it best to send as an attachment to an email. Please let me know if you cannot do that and instead need a fax number. Harry Gural (202) 527-2280 On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 10:37 AM, Nguyen, Thang (OCTO-Contractor) wrote: Good morning Mr. Gural , Your request is currently DHCD’s queue for processing. Assigned FOIA officer is Timothy Wilson , who is copied on this email. Target Date: 12/12/2016 For any further questions regarding your FOIA request, please reach out to the FOIA officer. Regards, Thang Nguyen IT Specialist|Citywide Messaging | Office of the Chief Technology Officer 200 I Street SE Washington DC, 20003 HelpDesk: 202-727-6272 | Desk: 202-478-5973 | Cell: 202-304-7460 Email: thang.nguyen@dc.gov Email: Citywide.Messaging@dc.gov Email: Wireless.Messaging@dc.gov Optional Telework Days: Tuesday+Wednesday From: Harry Gural [mailto:harrygural@gmail.com] Sent: Friday, January 6, 2017 8:26 AM To: Anderson, Keith (DHCD) Cc: Barry Weiss ; Beth Harrison ; Cohn, Joel (OTA) ; Shreve, Johanna (OTA) ; Falcicchio, John (EOM) ; Willingham, Jonathan (COUNCIL) ; Cheh, Mary (COUNCIL) ; Meghan Brown ; Sadeghy, Amir (OTA) ; Adelstein, Shirley (SMD 3F02) <3F02@anc.dc.gov>; Shirley Adelstein ; Taylor, Dennis (OTA) ; Ahmed, Umar (OTA) ; Pelletiere, Danilo (DHCD) ; Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser ; Nguyen, Thang (OCTO-Contractor) Subject: Fwd: Rent control violations -- FOIA requesting RAD-9 forms submitted by Equity Residential for 3003 Van Ness Dear Mr. Anderson, I am writing to follow-up on the FOIA request referenced in my email of Nov. 17, 2016, Case Number 2017-FOIA-00710. I have not yet received any acknowledgment from you about my request or a response to my last letter, nor have I received any of the requested information from the Rental Accommodations Division. The law mandates that information requested by a citizen in a FOIA request must be delivered to the petitioner within 15 business days of the request. More than twice that number of days has passed since then, with no word either from you or from the RAD. As explained in my last letter, the information I requested is critical because it likely follows a pattern of information I already have, showing that Equity Residential vastly overstates the rents in collects on apartments at 3003 Van Ness. Equity then bases annual increases on those false figures, which are often inflated well over $1,000 above the actual rent paid. The information I have shows that Equity has broken DC rent stabilization laws in more than 50 cases. I believe that your files show that Equity has done this in hundreds or thousands of cases. If this proves to be true, this is a scandal worth many millions of dollars. This should be a top concern of your department, yet I have received no information from you. I again ask you to abide by your legally mandated obligation as soon as possible. Every month, hundreds of Equity Residents are hit with illegal rent increases that can amount to $500 or $1,000 or more per apartment per year. This is a scandal should be of highest concern. I request that you act immediately. Sincerely yours, Harry Gural President, Van Ness South Tenants Association Cc: Members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association The Office of the Tenant Advocate Office of the DC Attorney General Mayor Muriel Bowser Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Mary Cheh ANC Commissioner Shirley Adelstein ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Harry Gural Date: Thu, Nov 17, 2016 at 10:03 PM Subject: Rent control violations -- FOIA requesting RAD-9 forms submitted by Equity Residential for 3003 Van Ness To: keitha.anderson@dc.gov Cc: Mary Cheh , Anita Bonds , Barry Weiss , Beth Harrison , Joel Cohn , Johanna Shreve , John Falcicchio , Jonathan Willingham , Meghan Brown , "Sadeghy, Amir (OTA)" , Shirley Adelstein <3f02@anc.dc.gov>, Shirley Adelstein , "Taylor, Dennis (OTA)" , Umar Ahmed , Office of Mayor Muriel Bowser , Danilo Pelletiere The letter below, along with additional documents, is attached. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. Anderson, I am writing on behalf of the board of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, which represents residents of 3003 Van Ness in northwest DC. I am writing to let you know that we have submitted a FOIA request (2017-FOIA-00710) for records of rent prices reported to the Rental Accommodations Division (RAD) by Equity Residential, the owner of our building. The building is subject to rent control. We have evidence that on forms it files with RAD, Equity Residential overstates rents by as much as $1,500 per month, claiming for example that it collects $3,500 for a one-bedroom in our neighborhood – a preposterous amount. Equity then bases subsequent annual increases on this fictitious number, greatly exceeding those allowed by DC law. For this reason, the board of the Van Ness South Tenants Association has submitted a FOIA request for RAD-9 forms filed by Equity Residential for the building at 3003 Van Ness since the passage of the Rent Control Reform Act of 2006. See attached examples of RAD-9 forms filed by Equity with RAD and also RAD-8 forms it uses to demand of residents extremely large rent increases. We will appreciate your help in making sure that our FOIA request is processed within the 15 business days mandated by law. Sincerely yours, Harry Gural President, Van Ness South Tenants Association Cc: Members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association The Office of the Tenant Advocate Mayor Muriel Bowser Councilmember Anita Bonds Councilmember Mary Cheh ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: DC Government Date: Thu, Nov 17, 2016 at 8:11 PM Subject: Request Acknowledgement by DC Government To: harrygural@gmail.com Dear Harry Gural, Case Number 2017-FOIA-00710 has been assigned to the request you submitted. In all future correspondence regarding this request please reference case number 2017-FOIA-00710. Regards, DC Government