The Peasants Are Revolting!

Don’t Agonize: Organize!

A tenants’ union is an organized group of renters who live in the same building, under the same landlord, or within the same city.

Like a labor union that brings workers together to negotiate with an employer, a tenants’ union allows renters to pool their collective power to negotiate with property owners and management companies.

The core philosophy is collective bargaining. Individually, a tenant has very little leverage against a landlord. However, a group of tenants acting together can create
significant pressure.

Core Focus of Tenants’ Unions

• 🏠 Improving Living Conditions

  Forcing landlords to address mold, broken heat, or pest infestations that have been ignored.

• 📈 Stabilizing Costs

  Fighting against “renovictions” (evicting tenants to renovate and raise prices) and predatory rent increases.

• ⚖️ Legal Protection

  Providing resources and community support to fight unfair evictions or the withholding of security deposits.

Tenants of Royal Courts and Savannah Heights are organizing to resist maltreatment, mismanagement, bullying, and disrespect from our landlord and its agents.

We also strenuously object to the landlord’s war on pets and their invasive attempts to restrict parking In front of our homes. Please join us.

EVERYBODY’S GOT A BOSS

May I please speak to your manager?

To protest Royal Courts’ harsh policies, ask to speak to the managers:

• Property Manager: Ramona.Watson@res1.net
• Assistant Manager: lillian.freeman@res1.net
• Leasing Specialist: Kisha.Spencer@res1.net
• District Manager: tanisha.howard@res1.net
• Executive Vice President: mresau@res1.net

To lodge a complaint that will be heard at the corporate level, visit
https://res1.net/contact/

Residents, visitors, and neighbors can leave a public review, visit
https://maps.app.goo.gl/G3fQfgssdc4aFSHk7

EVERYBODY’S GOT A BOSS (pt 2)

Do the owners realize how dissatisfied their tenants are?

These are the owners of the Royal Courts. They pay Res1 a substantial sum of money to manage their property. Contact them directly to ensure your voice is heard at the highest level:

Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners 1400 16th St NW, Suite 430
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.462.1092
Email: info@jairlynch.com

Affordable Housing Developers 3 Bethesda Metro Center, Suite 110
Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone: 301.907.6660
Email: AHD@AHD1.com

Franklin Capital Group 201 N. Union Street, Suite 440
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Phone: 703.838.8700
Emails:
jer@franklincapitalgroup.com
emv@franklincapitalgroup.com

Don’t Agonize: Organize!

The Law Firm of Phugga, Rown, & Feindoubt

Free Legal Assistance for Tenants

DC Bar Pro Bono Center 

https://www.dcbar.org/pro-bono/free-legal-help/help-for-individuals/housing-legal-assistance

Legal Aid DC

https://www.legalaiddc.org/practice-areas/housing-law

Rising for Justice

https://www.risingforjustice.org/help/#housing

DC Attorney General Office of the Tenant Advocate

https://ota.dc.gov/service/ota-housing-assistance-and-community-service

Neighborhood Legal Services Program

https://www.nlsp.org

Our Grievances

• 
  WHAT IS A RENT STRIKE?
  by Roy Alcourt
  April 26, 2026
  A rent strike is a form of collective direct action where a group of tenants organized as abody (usually a tenant union) collectively agrees to stop paying rent. Rent strikes areusually about rebalancing power. For many tenants, it is the only way to get a… Read more: WHAT IS A RENT STRIKE?
• 
  WHEN DID ROYAL COURTS BECOME A NO-PARKING ZONE?
  by Roy Alcourt
  March 22, 2026
  On Monday morning, I sent an e-mail request to office staff at the Royal Courts apartments: We heard nothing from Royal Courts until the assistant manager called at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday to inform us that we must come to the office… Read more: WHEN DID ROYAL COURTS BECOME A NO-PARKING ZONE?
• 
  SLIP & FALL?
  by Roy Alcourt
  February 5, 2026
  Better Call Saul Code of the District of Columbia § 9–601.  (a) The owner of a residential or commercial property that fronts or abuts a paved sidewalk shall, within the first 8 hours of daylight after the ceasing to fall of any snow… Read more: SLIP & FALL?
• 
  BABY, IT’S COLD INSIDE
  by Roy Alcourt
  December 22, 2025
  2025 Dec 08 On Wednesday. December 3rd, I went to the rental office and personally informed the leasing agent (KS) that our heating unit would shut off during the night. The following afternoon, engineers came to our door, but we were both… Read more: BABY, IT’S COLD INSIDE
• 
  It’s a Doggy Dog World
  by Roy Alcourt
  November 8, 2025
  . . . and your little dog, too! October 30th, 2025 Name: Residents RE: Unauthorized PetIf you have a pet that you have not registered with us at the office, It is VERY IMPORTANT that you do so. Although this is a… Read more: It’s a Doggy Dog World

Tenant Tales

Last year, contractors installed a new HVAC unit in our home but it promptly failed. Consequentially, we were inadequately warm this winter, relying on two space heaters that management had provided. This summer, our loft area has been unacceptably warm because three small window units have been inadequate to cool the entire apartment. Management states that maintenance is unable to repair our nonfunctioning unit because it is still under warranty from the contractor. However, we’ve never even been given an appointment for evaluation by their alleged contractor.

This has been a contributing factor in this skyrocketing cost of electricity in our home—and probably a myriad of households within the Royal Court. The poor can take no more.

In January, contractors were making very invasive repairs on the air conditioning systems that required emptying closets for multiple visits from the workmen. We understood that the repairs were necessary and endeavored to be as cooperative as possible as Royal Courts was managing a very large problem. We did not insist on strict compliance to DC Code § 4.51. which stipulates “Written notice must be provided to the tenant at least 48 hours before the time the housing provider wishes to enter the unit.” However, we did insist that one of us be present when strangers are in our home.

We spoke with the contractors who were amenable to scheduling a date and time that would work for all parties. However, the front office would not honor our agreement, insisting that a memo informing residents that AC repairs would be conducted over a two-week period gave them carte blanche to enter our homes at any time during that fortnight. Attorneys for DCRA have confirmed that this does not satisfy Royal Court’s obligation to provide 48-hour notice.

Sincerely,
Unnotified Tenant

Clearly, the Royal Courts plan for trash removal is inadequate. It is a blight on the sight and a vector for vermin. I don’t know how many days per week pickup is scheduled, but an additional day (or two) is obviously needed. Another pro tip: when the trucks arrive, maintenance staff should be on hand to load excess trash into the truck.

A few weeks ago, I called Royal Courts to speak with the manager, who apparently spends most of her time at her alternate work location at Savannah Heights. The receptionist informed me that her boss was not in that day. When I asked if she would be in the next day, she explained curtly, “I am not required to tell you.” I don’t understand how it is to her advantage to prevent a tenant from speaking to his property manager, but she chose to be a contentious gatekeeper that day.

Very Truly Yours,

Karen (“May I please speak to your manager?”)

Approximately four weeks ago, contractors embarked on a major excavation project on the front lawn of my building. During several noisy days, a crew of 4 or 5 men with shovels and a backhoe dug a deep hole, but they seem to have abandoned their project they have not returned for several weeks. Their hole has been covered with plywood and pieces of equipment lie atop mounds of earth. The site has been “secured” with flimsy yellow “crime scene” tape that does nothing to prevent curious children from exploring a potentially dangerous abandoned work zone.

Not only is it a hazard, it is also an eyesore that tenants have endured during the entire month of October.

Signed,

Attractive Nuisance

On the coldest day of the year, I was standing in the Royal Courtyard to meet my Uber. However, the driver cancelled because he could not find my home inside the gate. This meant I had to call Metro Access to arrange another ride. As a disabled senior, climbing back up several flights of stairs to my home was a minor hardship. Had the temperature been above freezing (it was in the 20s), I would have taken a seat on one of the benches and waited for my ride outside. 

However, it was nearly opening time at the ironically named Community Center. I tried the door and found it unlocked. I took a seat next to the door and ventured no further inside. As I made my phone call and waited for my ride, the Leasing Agent demanded that I leave the building immediately. I asked her to show a little mercy because of the extreme cold, but she was having none of that. Fortunately, Uber found me inside the gate this time and I exited the “Community” Center very promptly.

A more professional leasing agent might have displayed the tact and grace to state that because of exigent circumstances, she would permit the old man to sit at the door this one time, but he should never again enter her fortress before official opening time. She did not have the goodness in her heart to tolerate one very minor infraction.

Denying a disabled senior momentary comfort from extreme cold reflects very poorly on her character. Worse, as the on-site representative of Residential One, her cruel indifference reflects very poorly on her employer as well.

Respectfully,
Older & Colder

I returned from work one Friday last summer and discovered that the air conditioning was not functioning. I was dismayed because the temperature was 90+ degrees and it was already uncomfortable inside my home. As it was after 5:00 and the maintenance crew would not return until Monday, I reached out in desperation to the Royal Courts emergency custodian. Not only did he refuse to assist, he literally brought me to tears lecturing me incoherently about the technical aspects of air conditioning repair. If this man had been more knowledgeable (or more sober), he would have known that the solution was simply to flip a switch in the breaker box. When the contractor arrived on Monday morning, he knew what to do and my air conditioning was back on in less than a minute. My long, hot weekend was finally over.

I must say that this unprofessional act of nonfeasance would never be tolerated in a Res1 property in a more affluent zip code and with a more diverse demographic.

Best,
Hot & Bothered
(but not in a good way)

The Tenants Are Revolting!