The Annex at Germantown apartment complex, formerly Germantown High School, has been operating without a rental license since opening in 2024, and tenant reaction has led to at least one confrontation with management.

After receiving a complaint, the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) on Aug. 25 issued a violation to the owners of the apartments at 5915-41 Germantown Ave. for not having the license.

Developers Jack Azran and Eli Alon opened the property in segments in late 2024, with portions of the building still under renovation. However, public records revealed that the property had never obtained a rental license. Without the proper license, it is illegal for a landlord to collect rent.

“There is no record of a rental license ever being issued to this property,” said L&I spokesperson Kandyce Stukes in a statement to the Local.

Following the violation, the owners obtained a rental license on Aug. 27. They did not respond to requests for comment, but they did send a notice to tenants saying that L&I would visit the property on Tuesday.

In the meantime, tenants of the apartments have been organizing, intent on forming a tenants’ association — but not without some apparent pushback.

One tenant, Ryan Green, told the Local she began withholding rent after realizing the property didn’t have a license. She said she decided to check the status after power outages, slow maintenance response, and HVAC issues at the property.

Green said she walked through her building to inform her neighbors that the owners were illegally collecting rent, and was confronted by two men who worked for management. In a video posted to social media by Patrick Jones, ward leader for the 59th Democratic Ward, two men are seen arguing with her in a hallway, accusing her of playing “childish games” and insisting that she is improperly soliciting door-to-door. She denies that and tells them she has called the police.

“You gotta go,” one of the men says.

“You can’t kick me out of a building that I live in,” she replies. “... I’m on my floor.”

“You can’t just stand here,” the other man says.

“You’re yelling,” she replies, then adds, “Get out of my face,” as he walks closer to her.

“Get away from me,” Green insists.

“I don’t have to get away from you,” the man replies, telling her to “go to your apartment.”

The video shows the men then following her down the hallway, where they watch as she unlocks her door and goes inside.

Green said she felt threatened by the men and that it was their intent to intimidate her, to keep her from speaking with her fellow tenants.

Part of the city’s Safe Healthy Homes Act, which passed earlier this year, focused on greater protections from harassment and retaliation for tenant organizing and proactive inspections by L&I.

Reacting to the video, Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke, who introduced the Safe Healthy Homes Act, told the Local in a written statement, “I’ve seen footage of a conflict at the Annex in Germantown, where management was not treating a tenant professionally or respectfully. Since then, I’ve also learned that the landlord has been operating without a valid rental license for years, which is flatly illegal.”

He added, “These unfortunate situations remind me of the importance of the Safe Healthy Homes Act, which will go into effect this November. It’s our job in City Hall to make sure tenants have the support and well-resourced enforcement institutions they need, with real teeth for wrongdoing.”

Jones got involved after Green and other tenants began organizing. He posted the video to a private Facebook group called Changing Germantown. He and a group of tenants held a meeting on Aug. 27, which also was attended by state Rep. Andre Carroll and a representative of state Sen. Art Haywood’s office.

“The biggest outcome was that the tenants agreed to move forward with organizing a permanent tenant organization,” Jones said. “We also discussed the rental license issue, maintenance and building concerns, tenant rights, and the need for better accountability and communication from ownership and management.”

Jones said the tenants plan to continue organizing and meeting. He plans to tour the property with management and Carroll later this week.

“Landlord-tenant reform happens in City Hall, and it happens in our communities,” O’Rourke said. “Laws like the Safe Healthy Homes Act and institutions like our Fair Housing Commission are put in place to ensure standards for professional compliance and personal conduct.”

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