Last winter, Adrian, Alysha and their mom, London*, faced the coldest days of the year without heat.



London was seven months pregnant when she moved with her daughter into a new apartment in August. Though her apartment should have been inspected by the city to ensure it was safe to live in, she learned immediately that their AC didn’t work.

Just days later, a thunderstorm revealed leaks in the ceiling so significant that it started raining in the back bedroom. Soon, leaks opened in the bathroom ceiling, mold grew on the walls and mice and insects ran rampant. London tried repeatedly to get the property manager to fix the damage, but they refused.



Adrian was born in October, and by late November he and sister Alysha had trouble breathing because of the mold. As the winter months rolled in, they faced yet another issue – no heat. London’s pediatrician connected her to Children’s Law Center.

We helped London file for an emergency injunction to force the landlord to fix the heat and pay for a hotel while making repairs. The landlord agreed at first, but dragged out the repairs and made the process incredibly difficult. They refused to pay for more than one night at the hotel, forcing London and her children to return to a cold apartment the next day. Then, the landlord sent out an unlicensed repair team who installed insufficient heaters – and blew out the electricity in the apartment.

It was clear that staying in this building wasn’t safe or healthy.

We moved forward on two fronts – urging the court to make sure the landlord fixed the heating issue while also helping London find a new home for her family – not knowing which path would be quicker. Thankfully London found a new home, and the kids’ breathing problems have gone away.

We meet hundreds of families like London’s every year which is why we worked with Children’s National to map some of the DC apartment buildings with the highest rates of pediatric asthma and the worst housing conditions.

We’re now using those maps to advocate for systemic reforms and combine funding for energy efficiency with health funding to assist owners in making building repairs.

With gratitude,

Judith Sandalow

Executive Director

P.S. Learn more about London and her family’s journey to health here, or click here to read our recent testimony advocating for improvements to our housing inspection process.

*We always provide clients the option to change their names when sharing their story. Pseudonyms and a stock photo have been used at the family’s request. All other details are true.