Heather Hill Apartments Settlement: $11.2M Relief and Suspended Penalty

The Heather Hill Apartments settlement is a September 11, 2025 consent order in which the owner and operator of the 459-unit Temple Hills, Maryland complex agreed to roughly $11.2 million in tenant relief after the Maryland Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division alleged the property was rented for more than two years without a required license and while residents lived with mold, pests, and broken heating.¹ Attorney General Anthony Brown called it the largest landlord-tenant settlement his Consumer Protection Division has ever obtained.

What Tenants Get

The relief is split between debt that disappears and money that changes hands. At least $8.8 million in unpaid rent from the period when the complex operated without a license is canceled. Heather Hill cannot collect on it, and cannot accept payment for it going forward.¹

On top of that, at least $2.6 million in restitution goes to residents. Current tenants receive dollar-for-dollar credits against any rent they’ve accrued since the property became licensed, with additional credits applied to future rent. Former tenants receive cash payments for rent they paid during the unlicensed stretch.²

Evictions get cleared too. In May 2025 alone, more than 240 failure-to-pay-rent actions had been filed against Heather Hill tenants.³ Under the order, the landlord must dismiss all pending eviction cases against tenants whose debts are wiped out by the restitution. Heather Hill must also ask the District Court to remove previously filed and dismissed failure-to-pay-rent filings from public view, and to shield the June 2024 eviction cases filed when the landlord tried to evict more than 130 tenants at once.⁴

Credit histories get protected. Heather Hill has to notify credit reporting agencies that unpaid rent from the unlicensed period should be treated as satisfied, and it cannot report those debts to prospective landlords if tenants apply for housing elsewhere.⁴

Two smaller payments go to the state rather than to tenants: $150,000 to a community fund administered by the Attorney General’s office for the benefit of the impacted community, and $75,000 toward investigation costs. Both are paid in quarterly installments over five years.⁵

Why the State Acted

Prince George’s County Code Section 13-181 requires the owner of any multifamily rental property to hold a rental housing license before operating. Getting one requires passing a fire inspection with no deficiencies and submitting proof of ownership and a certificate of occupancy.⁶

Heather Hill Property Company LLC bought the complex at 5837 Fisher Road in early 2022 and did not apply for a license for about 25 months.⁷ A temporary license issued on May 7, 2024 was suspended on August 5, 2024 after the property failed a fire safety inspection. A valid license was not obtained until January 13, 2025.³

That gap matters because of Maryland’s Consumer Debt Collection Act. Landlords without a required license cannot legally collect rent for the unlicensed period, charge late fees, report unpaid rent to credit agencies, or file eviction actions based on nonpayment during that time. The Attorney General alleged Heather Hill kept demanding rent and threatening late fees anyway, including after the temporary license was suspended.⁸ The state’s November 13, 2024 charges alleged violations of both the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and the Consumer Debt Collection Act.⁹

Conditions at the complex fed the case. Residents reported black mold, infestations of mice, roaches, and bats, water damage, and mushrooms growing from beneath cabinets and through floors.¹ One tenant, Charlene Hall, said her unit had lacked heat since November 2023. Between April 2022 and May 2024, the county’s Department of Permitting, Inspections, and Enforcement issued multiple notices of violation for mold, water leaks, inoperable HVAC systems and appliances, rodent entry holes, and roof damage.⁹ A June 2024 housing and fire code inspection found violations in every building, and the Attorney General’s office said employees were observed moving fire extinguishers between buildings during inspections to create the false appearance that each building had valid equipment.

Who Paid and Who Was Dropped

The parties on the hook are Heather Hill Property Company LLC, the Delaware-based owner, and Heather Hill Operating Company LLC, the operator. Both denied any wrongdoing or liability in the consent order.⁵ In a statement, the company said it had invested more than $6 million in repairs and improvements since acquiring the property in 2022.⁴

Charges against OneWall Communities LLC, the property manager until August 2024, and its CEO Andy Wallace were dismissed. OneWall said it had not been involved in operations since August 2024, before the state filed charges.⁴ Charges against OneWall COO Ron Kutas, a member of both Heather Hill LLCs, were dismissed without prejudice alongside the entry of the consent order and a corporate guarantee from the Heather Hill entities.⁵

The Suspended Penalty

Sitting on top of the $11.2 million in relief is a separate $7.25 million civil penalty. It is suspended, and will be waived only if Heather Hill fully complies with every term of the order. A failure to dismiss evictions, cancel debts, or make the required payments can bring that penalty back into play.⁵ The complex’s current rental license, obtained January 13, 2025, runs through January 2027.³

The Separate Federal Class Action

The state settlement is not the only case. Tenant Charlene Hall filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Heather Hill Property Company, Heather Hill Operating Company, and OneWall Communities in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Case No. 25-cv-0238-ABA. Hall, a resident since 2017, alleged sewage backups, recurring mold that management painted over rather than remediated, and a persistent lack of heat and hot water, and submitted medical records tying her family’s respiratory problems to mold in the unit.¹⁰ Her claims include violations of the Maryland Consumer Protection Act and Consumer Debt Collection Act, breach of the implied warranty of habitability, and negligence. Hall moved for class certification in February 2026, but the court placed that motion in abeyance pending the defendants’ motion to dismiss.¹¹ That lawsuit proceeds independently of the state consent order.

1
The Daily Record. Maryland Landlord Settlement Heather Hill
2
WTOP. $11M in Restitution Going Back to Prince Georges Residents of Shabby Apartment Complex
3
Maryland Attorney General. Attorney General Brown Announces Multi-Million Dollar Settlement With Heather Hill
4
Capital News Service Maryland. State Settles Landmark Case for Prince Georges Tenants
5
Maryland Attorney General. Heather Hill Settlement Final Order by Consent
6
Prince George’s County. Multifamily Rental Licensing
7
Washington Informer. Maryland Attorney General Charges Apartment
8
Maryland Attorney General. Attorney General Heather Hill Charges Announcement
9
DC News Now. Maryland Attorney General Announces Charges Against Temple Hills Apartment Complex
10
U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. Hall v. Heather Hill Property Company, Case No. 25-cv-0238-ABA
11
PACER Monitor. Hall v. Heather Hill Property Company, Motion for Class Certification