Landlord charged tenants thousands when they complained of bugs, gross conditions: AG

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office filed a lawsuit against a Philadelphia-area property management company after tenants in and around the city reported living in squalor, including in cockroach-infested apartments with sewage issues.

"Tenants living in SBG properties — including Lindley Towers and Cresheim Valley Apartments in Philadelphia — allegedly experienced repeated, serious problems, including deteriorating interior and exterior surfaces, rodent and cockroach infestations, broken and unsecured doors and locks, excessive leaks and water damage, and exposure to raw sewage and mold," the AG’s office said in a press release.

The office announced Thursday it filed a suit against SBG Management Services for "multiple violations," including "failure to maintain safe housing and retaliating against tenants who filed complaints with the Office of Attorney General."

SBG Management operates 15 properties in and around Philadelphia, including the Cresheim Valley Apartments and Lindley Towers in the city, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. Lindley Towers partially collapsed on Sept. 14, 2022, forcing roughly 100 tenants to evacuate.

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Philadelphia’s building safety department had repeatedly cited Lindley Towers and Cresheim Valley Apartments for code violations in recent years, including for electrical hazards and structural problems, according to the Inquirer. Following the building collapse at Lindley Towers last year, the city of Philadelphia and a legal aid nonprofit both sued SBG for the conditions at the complex.

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The AG office’s suit alleges the property management company did not fix building issues for tenants in a "timely manner, if at all — even when requests involved urgent, dangerous conditions."

The lawsuit alleges two tenants at Lindley Towers saw their electricity get shut off after they withheld rent over ongoing housing issues that reportedly went unaddressed. Their electricity was allegedly turned back on when the tenants paid rent.

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One tenant at Cresheim Valley Apartments, who spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer under the condition anonymity, said that sewage "will just sit in the basement like a pond."

"The tenants who have lived here have made these apartments their homes. They don’t want to leave the community," the tenant told the outlet. "This might be [the owner’s] property, but this is our homes, and we are going to fight for our homes."

SBG also allegedly charged tenants $5,000 when they complained of the housing issues to the AG’s office.

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"This management company neglected the safety and basic human needs of their tenants, then thought they could intimidate those who spoke up by imposing unfair retaliatory fees," Attorney General Michelle Henry said in the office’s press release. "My office will not tolerate landlords who fail to maintain properties and put Pennsylvanians at risk."

The AG office’s lawsuit seeks "restitution for consumers and restrictions on SBG from renewing lease agreements and collecting rent until all required licenses and certifications are in good standing."

The AG’s office is calling on anyone who had similar experiences with SBG to file a complaint online with the Bureau of Consumer Protection.

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SBG Management Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.