Property Manager License Question Answered;
Upper Deck Renovation Judgment Calls;
$19,000 For Latest Sewer Disaster in 3229-C;
That $10,000 DC Government Fine
- DC Property Manager’s License Issue
Dear Neighbor:
As you (and the Board) know, I have asked our Board many times whether as an Association employee our new on-site GM would be required under DC law to have a Property Manager’s License. The Board, as is their typical uncaring attitude, refused to respond. I thus did the only logical thing, which was to ask the DC Government:
I wrote to the General Counsel of the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) yesterday, which of course was a holiday. I received the below response this morning at 9:44 AM:
From: Dasgupta, Richa (DLCP)
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 2026 9:44 AM
To: kenneth@rinzler.com
Subject: RE: Isn’t No DC Property Manager’s License A Violation of DC Law?
Mr. Rinzler: As the law is currently written, managers of condos and other common interest communities are not required to have a property management license.
Best,
Richa
Richa Shyam Dasgupta | General Counsel |
Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection
So here is someone who has an incredible amount of responsibility and yet I receive an answer to my inquiry within one hour after the office opens. But our Board can’t be bothered to respond at all.
I will also remind the community of yet another example of the complete bullshit in SPOCK’s (Sutton Place’s Outside Counsel Katz, not to be confused with the “Spock” character in the Star Trek franchise, who is justifiably recognized for possessing superior intelligence, analytical skills, and an inability to lie) letter to the community when she wrote:
“Despite a lack of expertise in this area of law, the individual, who is an attorney, has appointed himself an authority on the DC Condominium Act and the Association’s governance, issuing an unrelenting stream of demands, accusations, and self-aggrandizing “legal analyses” that are consistently incorrect, misleading, and/or without merit.”
I have, of course, have never held myself out as an “authority” on the DC Condominium Act nor the Association’s governance; I have simply asked legitimate, often embarrassing, questions of the Board and Comsource (as I did of DLCP here) but never get an answer. And again, unlike our Board, I admit when I was incorrect about something. If the GC says no license is required so be it.
- Upper Deck Renovation Costs
We have yet to be provided with any solid information about what the upper deck renovation might cost, including what the exact amount is of the contract(s) we have already signed.
And here are two things which truly concern me. First, this project is in the hands of someone who paid $109,750 (13.7%) over the list price of $799,500) for their unit back in May 2022, probably a Sutton Place record for financial foolishness. (The fact that it was bought from a then Board member, whose husband was a then member of the laughable ACC (Architectural Control Committee) which knowingly let favored owners, including a member of the ACC itself, get away with violating the infamous “must have muntins rule,” and just one year later was on the Board herself, is an interesting side note.) And second, I guess this person must have money to burn because although she took out a $647,000 mortgage to buy the place, according to the DC Office of Tax and Revenue website she’s not taking the Homestead Deduction from her DC property tax (which would save her at least $1,500 annually). How can such an apparently wealthy person know what’s it like for us simple people on a budget? *smile*
As someone once said when they were running for the Board “I believe that we all deserve and expect to live in a community where our condo dues are spent in a judicious manner and where association management is conducted in a cooperative, collegial, and transparent manner.” Hear! Hear! Just like counsel’s letter to the community and the Board member who feels that if you don’t want to speak at a totalitarian-controlled on-camera Board meeting, your views don’t count.
Latest Sewer Disaster in 3229-C and Owner Not Even Consulted on Repairs
As the owner has asked me to hold off on this until she can ask the Board tomorrow to postpone a vote on this until some of her questions are answered, I will honor her request. But, Lordy, do I have some thoughts on this matter. Stay tuned.
- About That $10,000 Fine For Waterproofing My Building’s Foundation
Let’s not forget about the $10,000 fine charged to our Association by the DC Government (see below) for failure to obtain the proper permits when they were doing the waterproofing repair on my building’s foundation. This has been pending for many months now and will stay until the DC Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) makes a final decision on the matter. Not just another example of the incompetence of our Board and Comsource, but of their endless hypocrisy when they complain about high legal fees; I guess unnecessary fines don’t count.
Let’s see what Thursday brings.
