BALTIMORE — Twenty people living at 2126 Maryland Avenue are facing homelessness after what they call shady practices by an area landlord.
"First the sewer line busts. Then from there's the electric," said tenant Anthony Hill, I mean we’ve just been going through hell."
Travis Parsons tells WMAR-2 News he and others found out about the rooms for rent through a Baltimore based therapist. They identified their therapist as Dr. Christopher Bazemen.
Bazemen rented a nearby property from the landlord but after a fallout, was evicted. Tenants tell WMAR the property continued to decline.
"Dr. Bazemen was collecting our rent and then giving it to management," said one tenant.
"Discrepancies happens," said Laseyi Cole. "But now we're basically abandoned. You can’t call upon him. You can’t deal with the landlord it’s just nowhere to turn to you just between a rock and a hard place. No one wants to live like this. No one chooses to live like this."
And legally they can't. A check of records shows the property in question is zoned for commercial use only, not residential. According to a source, there are no proper permits. There are exposed wires, unsanitary conditions, a rat infestation and more.
On Tuesday, the city slapped the building and owners associated with WAZ-Management with a cease-and-desist order. Tenants were told they had to leave within 48 hours.
"We're trying to make sense of it all," said one resident.
Tuesday afternoon a staff member with Baltimore Department of Housing and Community Development visited the building, taking names and contact numbers. When asked when the people would receive the resources needed to relocate, the staff member couldn't say.
Unfortunately, tenants tell WMAR they've been down this road, adding DHCD came down a month ago. They've still be waiting.
"Yeah, they took her information but from what we understand things they're not going to be able to do anything until next year. That’s crazy," said Anthony Hill.
"We have nowhere to go," said Brandy Parsons. "We still wouldn’t be living here with no running water if we had somewhere to go."
A check of records show that the property has multiple violations going back years. We're told residents will be offered assistance through addiction recovery services.
WAZ Management is being taken to court by Baltimore City. A date is set for December 8.
