D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb is taking two Columbia Heights landlords to court, alleging that years of ignored problems at their buildings ended in a 2024 gas explosion that left one tenant badly injured and dozens of residents suddenly homeless.
In a lawsuit filed July 9, 2026, Schwalb accuses John and Herminia Steininger of chronic neglect at their properties and asks a D.C. Superior Court judge to order long-delayed repairs, compensate tenants, and reimburse the city for emergency housing costs. The case is the latest in a string of aggressive enforcement actions by the Office of the Attorney General aimed at problem rental properties across the District.
What The Lawsuit Alleges
According to the Office of the Attorney General, the complaint says the Steiningers let their buildings at 1433 Columbia Road NW and 1841 Lamont Street NW rack up more than 120 housing code violations and over $140,000 in fines since 2018, without fixing the underlying problems.
The suit asks the court to force the owners to correct all cited violations, to reimburse the Office of the Tenant Advocate for roughly $260,299 the District spent on emergency housing for displaced residents, and to impose civil penalties and damages for tenants allegedly harmed by the conditions.
The Blast And Its Aftermath
On September 20, 2024, a gas stove inside an apartment at 1433 Columbia Road NW exploded, seriously burning a longtime tenant and triggering an immediate evacuation of the building, as reported by The 51st. Fire crews shut down the gas lines and stabilized the scene, and investigators later deemed the building uninhabitable, WTOP reported.
The explosion instantly turned dozens of residents into displaced tenants, dependent on temporary housing and scrambling to replace daily routines that had literally blown up.
Tenants Say Conditions Were Dire
Both the complaint and local reporting describe long-running problems in the buildings that tenants say stretched back years before the explosion. The list is extensive: broken windows and fixtures, rodent infestations, hazardous electrical wiring, inoperable smoke alarms, and lead-based paint hazards, among other issues.
According to the lawsuit and coverage by WJLA, the Columbia Road building remains closed while the District and nonprofit partners work to secure longer-term housing for residents displaced by the blast.
Legal Remedies And Enforcement Tools
Schwalb’s office says it is leaning on the District’s housing and consumer protection laws to force a cleanup of the properties and to claw back money for both tenants and taxpayers. As the Office of the Attorney General explains, the lawsuit seeks court orders to compel repairs, obtain restitution for affected tenants, and reimburse emergency housing costs paid by the city.
The release also flags additional enforcement tools, including the Tenant Receivership Act and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which allow the District to seek receivership, civil penalties, or other remedies when landlords repeatedly subject tenants to unsafe or unlawful living conditions.
What Happens Next
The case is now in the hands of D.C. Superior Court and is being handled by the OAG’s housing and enforcement teams. The owners have not issued any public response to the allegations.
Meanwhile, local outlets continue tracking how displaced tenants are faring and what happens to the properties at the center of the suit. For more on tenant impacts and the legal fight, see ongoing coverage from WJLA and reporting on conditions at the Columbia Road site by The 51st.
