Langley Park condo owners sue county, blame encampment for winter heat loss

Condo owners at the Marylander Condominiums in Langley Park filed a federal lawsuit on March 7, 2026, alleging a nearby 30-50-person homeless encampment vandalized the building’s boiler around Thanksgiving and left roughly half of the complex’s roughly 200 units without heat through the winter. The complaint accuses Prince George’s County of “deliberate indifference” and creating a “state-created danger” by sustaining the encampment through outreach and resource deliveries, and it seeks, according to reporting, $25 million in damages plus injunctive relief and a jury trial.

Plaintiffs say the boiler damage occurred around Thanksgiving, with sources variously describing the incident as the day after or the day before the holiday; WTOP reported high-pressure blowouts in nine of 19 buildings and burst pipes, and MarylandWire’s summary of the complaint puts direct encampment-related property damage at more than $800,000. The association’s filing also links vandalism to broken doors, shattered windows, mold spread, fires, an insurance cancellation and the collapse of a $2.5 million repair loan, while modernization estimates to replace electrical systems and install individual HVAC units run about $8 million.

The lawsuit names county policies and the Street Outreach Program’s regular food and blanket drops as causes of the camp’s persistence, and it accuses county staff of threatening the condominium with “formal actions” even as the complaint says the encampment became, quote, “a crack den, bathroom, prostitution site, and a full-blown drug market involving gangs such as the Langley Park Crew and MS-13.” The condominium seeks an emergency injunction to block county attempts to remove residents and asks a court to consider receivership to replace management and carry out repairs.

Board president Beverly Habada, a condo owner and former city manager in Takoma Park and Glenarden, leads the association’s legal push. Quasar Real Estate, hired in April as property manager, has publicly blamed the encampment; Quasar CEO Ken Brown said, “Without that encampment, I can move forward and make some repairs and improve the overall association, but right now, over the past eight months, every penny we’ve spent to make repairs has been undone by vandalism from that encampment.”

Prince George’s County officials dispute the causal link. At a Feb. 28 town hall, Devan Martin, described in reporting as a county spokesman or deputy chief of staff, sought to, in his words, “dispel some ‘misinformation’” and said the homeless encampment “had nothing to do with it,” while county officials including a person identified only as Fisher told WTOP the county has cleared the back area several times and that people have returned after those clearings. The county has also signaled it will ask the circuit court to replace property managers, with a county letter attributed to a Mr. Abraham pledging paperwork could be filed as soon as March 31.

Residents who endured winter without heat have pressed both sides. WJLA quoted resident Linda Barber’s son Chris saying, “Gotta stay warm somehow,” and WTOP quoted Jason Van Horne asking officials to “have compassion for the residents of the Marylander Condominiums that pay their bills on time.” Police escorted a trespasser off the property during a county visit, and judicial evacuation orders have affected about 100 units as the dispute moves into multiple courtrooms.

The competing filings set up a legal battle over who will control repairs and repayment at the Marylander: the condominium association is pursuing damages and an injunction in federal court, while county officials plan a circuit court receivership motion that they say would allow vacating and boarding up units to complete work. Follow-up filings and court dates this spring, including the county’s potential March 31 filing, will determine who holds authority to repair the complex and who will bear the mounting repair and relocation costs.