BALTIMORE — Tenants in Franklintown are asking for the Baltimore City officials to step in and shut down a property management company. WAZ Management is once again under fire, this time by tenants living at one of its properties off N. Forest Park Avenue.
Elana Shaikh tried showing WMAR-2 News what her apartment looks like Monday.
“Management gave me a new key but I’m still locked out,” she said.
Instead, Shaikh showed us photos of her apartment that she says is uninhabitable.
“There’s feces all over the ground,” she said. “The neighbor’s bathwater and toilet water will come down. There’s urine and feces and bugs all over.”
Photos showed the putrid scene she depicted. She moved into her apartment back in April 2021.
“Rent is $900,” she said.
Three months into her lease she started noticing problems. In October that’s when she experienced flooding.
“The plumber told management the pipes are bad,” she said. “At one point WAZ Management gave me a phone number and told me to deal with it.”
WMAR has reported on multiple properties owned by WAZ Management. Tenants all share similar stories.
RELATED: WAZ Management refuses to talk following property fire
RELATED: Tenant with WAZ Management speak out about shady practices
“They’re slumlords,” said Elana’s mom Makayla Crawford. “There shouldn’t be a flooding that’s so bad in someone’s apartment that the floor breaks apart. This should not happen. This is ridiculous.”
Elana has since moved in with her mom in a nearby unit on the same property. They’re both looking to leave as soon as possible.
“We’re in the process,” said Crawford.
A check of city records shows numerous citations and violations for the property in Franklintown. Many of them have not been addressed by WAZ Management.
"The city needs step in and stop them from getting building permits and from leasing these properties,” said Crawford. “They need more than just to pay some fines.”
The Department of Community Housing and Development previously told WMAR, WAZ Management is being taken to court, however lawyers for WAZ Management asked for a postponements.
“What is it going to take for this company to be shut down,” asked Crawford. “Does a building need to catch on fire? Does a tenant need to get hurt?”
