Pittsburgh officials, tenants and advocates press HUD and owners over reported failures at MB Affordable properties

PITTSBURGH — City council members, tenants, housing advocates and federal and county officials met in a post-agenda session Jan. 29 to address repeated complaints about living conditions at properties owned by MB Affordable and managed by related firms, including reports of bed bugs, rodents, mold, raw sewage, extended water outages and units without heat.

Councilman Kahari Moseley opened the session saying, "We are here today because our city is facing a housing crisis at a magnitude our city has not seen in decades," and urged that protecting "the existing affordable housing in our city" be central to the response.

The meeting brought multiple strands of concern together: residents’ testimony and tenant organizing; a timeline of the MB Affordable purchase and promises of investment; local government inspections and the limits of city enforcement; federal oversight by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); unpaid local vendors; and proposals from nonprofits and advocates for emergency fixes and long-term transfer of troubled buildings to responsible owners.

Why the session matters: dozens of subsidized units in and near Pittsburgh are governed by federal contracts. If HUD abates Housing Assistance Payment contracts or otherwise withdraws support, tenants could be displaced and the city would struggle to house residents quickly, witnesses and officials said. Several speakers warned that aggressive federal enforcement could produce mass displacement unless local partners and nonprofit developers are ready to assume control or offer alternatives.

What speakers reported and documented - Acquisition and complaints: Councilman Moseley summarized that MB Affordable acquired a portfolio of former ARCO properties in March 2023 that included buildings in Homewood, the Hill District, Oakland and Rankin. He said the buyer pledged more than $10 million for improvements but that tenants and local advocates quickly reported widespread problems. - Health and safety allegations: Presenters and resident organizers described persistent infestations (bed bugs, roaches, mice), leaking plumbing, raw sewage, nonworking boilers, mold and units occupied without refrigeration or hot water. Ashley Bryant, neighborhood engagement coordinator in the mayor’s office, said visiting tenants documented ‘‘holes in the roof . . . no heat, broken doors, windows, raw sewage in their basement, broken water heaters, and no water for at least 4 months at a time.’’ - HUD complaints and inspections: Council and controller staff cited HUD complaint counts that local officials said numbered in the dozens for the properties that were part of the sale; Councilman Moseley and others said HUD received 29 complaints about the 14 local properties in the sale. The city controller’s report focused on Homewood House and noted repeated PLI (Permits, Licensing & Inspections) complaints and code findings over multiple years. - Legal and ownership irregularities: Speakers cited federal indictments and guilty pleas in a mortgage-fraud case involving investors connected with the ownership group; Congresswoman Summer Lee said, "Their investors . . . have recently pled guilty to a $119,000,000 mortgage fraud conspiracy." Speakers also described a complex trail of LLCs, shared addresses with investment firms, and rapid portfolio expansion since 2020.

Local enforcement: limits and possible tools City Controller Rachel Heisler recommended that Pittsburgh request semiannual HUD assessments of inspections and suggested exploring amendments to the city’s Disruptive Property Ordinance to better address broad public-health concerns. She told the panel the city found repeated complaints and code violations at some properties over more than four years.

Director Green, head of the city’s Permits, Licensing & Inspections (PLI), explained enforcement constraints: "Our enforcement is limited, to when we are granted entry to a building," he said. To inspect inside occupied units, PLI relies on consent from tenants or owners; if entry is denied, PLI can seek an administrative warrant from a judge but uses that remedy sparingly. Director Green said administrative warrants have been used mostly in extreme hoarding or wellness cases and that filing one requires evidence and law-department support. He also said the planned rental-permit program should increase proactive inspections once implemented.

Tenant and community testimony Tenant organizers and service providers described ongoing harm and a collective response. Matthew Rubin of One Pennsylvania said tenants formed a committee and presented a set of demands that include professional repairs by licensed contractors, a moratorium on rent increases "until all building issues and infestations are resolved," licensed pest control and security, full accounting of federal rental assistance and tenant involvement in selecting contractors and security vendors. Rubin added that tenants report repairs have been performed only after tenant pressure or political attention.

Social-service providers and mental-health workers described trauma and ongoing harms. Dr. Stacy Ford, a trauma intervention specialist, said: "Exposure to these conditions is retraumatizing residents — seniors, children and families — who call for help and often receive no response from management." Several speakers described seniors forced to spend time in lobbies, families using stoves to heat apartments and longstanding distrust of management among residents.

Unpaid vendors and business impacts Local vendors who provided security, extermination and maintenance said they were not paid for months; one security vendor representative said his firm stopped service after falling deeply into arrears. Council and nonprofit speakers emphasized that unpaid local businesses are an additional harm of the management and ownership failures.

Proposals and next steps offered at the meeting - Immediate responses: city staff, the mayor’s office and county partners described rapid, on-site responses to recent emergencies (for example, determining and condemning units without heat and arranging temporary support). Nonprofits and Catapult Greater Pittsburgh highlighted the ability of community organizations to deploy vetted contractors quickly for emergency repairs, short-term hotel placements or immediate furnace fixes when tenants trust the intervening organization. - Enforcement and code changes: Controller Heisler recommended pursuing semiannual HUD assessment requests and exploring Disruptive Property Ordinance changes to cover public-health emergencies. Director Green noted that PLI and the county health department have overlapping authorities for rodents, sanitation and some code enforcement, and called for better coordination among city, county and federal entities. - Long-term options: nonprofit developers and community groups urged preparing to acquire or place troubled properties under community-focused ownership. Kendall Pelling of Rising Tide Partners described nonprofit acquisition and "people programs" as one path to preserve housing and avoid mass displacement, while warning that nonprofit buyers often face legal and financial obstacles if federal enforcement tools (like contract abatement) proceed without parallel placement plans.

Federal role and risk of displacement Speakers urged HUD to enforce standards and to coordinate with local partners so enforcement does not automatically produce displacement of tenants. Several panelists said HUD has authority to place flags on problem owners and can abate contracts — an action that can remove rental subsidy payments and often leads to tenant relocation. Nonprofits urged HUD to pair enforcement with ready alternatives (receivership with nonprofit operators or other measures) to preserve units and limit forced moves.

What was decided or directed No formal council votes were taken at the hearing. The meeting produced requests and commitments: Controller Heisler to share a summary with council about PLI findings and suggested ordinance changes; council members and staff said they would gather lists of at-risk units for PLI and consider budget implications for a larger inspection program; and tenant and nonprofit groups asked council to convene follow-up meetings to plan emergency interventions and long-term ownership pathways. Congresswoman Summer Lee pledged continued federal attention, saying, "I will personally make sure that they will never be allowed to do business with the federal government again," a statement she made to the meeting.

Looking ahead Speakers said a new management company called LEND was expected to assume management of some units on Feb. 1; that HUD regional and field staff had met with tenants in Pittsburgh; and that county and city offices would continue to intervene in immediate emergencies. Organizers asked council and the administration to coordinate a standing coalition of tenant leaders, nonprofits, HUD, the county health department and PLI to (1) identify and triage emergencies, (2) fund and deploy emergency repairs and temporary housing when needed, and (3) prepare a ready path for responsible long-term ownership that preserves affordability.

The meeting closed with a call for continued coordination and urgent action to protect tenants and preserve subsidized housing stock in the city.