Delayed, dismissed

One of the longest-lasting cases was filed by Angel Dow.

Tenant complaints analyzed by The Sun that involved threats to life, health and safety took an average of 102 days to resolve. Dow’s case dragged on for 20 months.

The landlord “endangered our health,” said Dow, 45, who works as a nurse’s aide at an assisted-living facility. “That’s why I didn’t drop the case.”

Dow, her husband and four children moved into a two-story rowhouse on Riggs Avenue in the Winchester neighborhood in March 2008. After the first year, she told The Sun, the problems began piling up: the back patio was deteriorating, the roof leaked, the basement flooded and became moldy.

She filed her complaint in August 2014, and a judge set up an escrow account. When several problems remained unrepaired in October, the judge gave Dow back the $1,700 she had paid, and waived the next month’s rent.

More hearings and inspections followed. Inspectors would note some violations being fixed, even as Dow said new problems emerged.

Dow said she was particularly concerned about peeling paint on the porch. The property lacked a certificate showing compliance with lead paint risk reduction standards.

Her concern grew in early 2015, when a granddaughter was born and moved in.

The Maryland Department of the Environment investigated, and filed its own complaint against the owner, Harry Mentzer, and the property manager, C.