Tenants at an apartment building for Johns Hopkins medical students and residents have spent much of the last month without hot water — causing icy relations among residents and staff as the problem persisted.

The East Baltimore complex, called The Essential, bills itself as an all-inclusive living experience and was created for the exclusive use of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institute community.

Open since 2012, the 20-story, 327-unit facility is owned by the North Carolina-based nonprofit P3 Foundation Inc., according to property records. East Baltimore Development Inc. relinquished its stake as a partial owner in 2023, according to the organization’s consolidated financial reporting documents, but is listed in online business records as a partial owner.

The problem was created after a repair when air got trapped in hot water lines that serve about half the building, the property’s owners and managers said in a joint statement to The Banner. Hot water service has improved, they said, but won’t be fully fixed until new equipment is installed later this month.

The weekslong disruption pushed some tenants to the brink: Group chat messages and flyers circulated; residents filed at least two court cases in the last month; and city inspectors have issued five violation notices related to the hot water failure, online records show.

Johns Hopkins University leases the land but does not own or manage the building. University spokesman Doug Donovan said in a statement that the administration has been in “continuous contact” with the owners and property managers to “insist that hot water be restored as soon as possible” and to “advocate for alternative arrangements for residents.”

Tenants said their housing is “unlivable” without adequate hot water. Some said they don’t have the bandwidth to stay on top of the problem.

“Most people who are here are students or residents who work at the hospital all hours of the day,” said Yelizaveta Tolstokoraya, a nurse who lives in The Essential. “No one has time to fight.”

Tolstokoraya and at least one other resident filed rent escrow cases against the landlord to withhold rent until repairs are made. Though the judge was sympathetic, Tolstokoraya voluntarily dismissed the case after learning she would have to come back to court multiple times.

Meanwhile, the city’s five violations fault the building for failing to provide hot water necessary for “bathing, washing, culinary purposes, cleansing, laundry or building maintenance.” Baltimore code mandates that water must reach temperatures of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Photos and emails reviewed by The Banner show thermometer readings sometimes half that much.

The violation notices remain open, with another inspection scheduled for Friday.

The owners and property managers at The Essential said in a joint statement that there was no quick fix for the complex plumbing system. They apologized to residents for the inconvenience and for communication breakdowns, but said the building was livable.

Residents had access to vacant units with functioning hot water, the statement said, and heat, electricity and internet still worked.

Some students have already received rent credits, the owners and managers said, making the rent escrow cases unnecessary. They also plan to change how they handle tenant concerns in the future, including holding town halls, giving more frequent updates and better collaborating with the university.

“This plumbing issue was unpredictable and complex, and we recognize how disruptive it has been,” the statement said. As a not-for-profit community, they added, it is their mission to “invest every dollar” back into the building.

The Essential had its water temporarily turned off on Nov. 6 due to an “emergency repair,” according to emails sent from management to residents, which was later described as a leak affecting the second through eighth floors. Management apologized for the shutoff but said in the emails that it was necessary to prevent further problems on site and that they expected to restore service that same evening.

The next day, management acknowledged that hot water might take time to restore after the shutoff and said residents should let the water run for a while to warm up.

The problems persisted into the next week, emails show. Management said they had seen some improvements but called in an outside plumber.

“We completely understand how inconvenient it’s been,” management wrote in a Nov. 12 email. “Please know that we are truly doing everything possible to make things better and restore full hot water as quickly as we can.”

By mid-November, The Essential had replaced its recirculation pump, mixing valve and put in shut-off valves. They were chasing air bubbles in the pipes, bringing in specialists and handing out Starbucks gift cards. But the water remained cold in some units — leading city inspectors to issue the violation notices.

Management and owners at The Essential said a custom-fabricated heat pump has been ordered and should be delivered by mid-December. A new, bigger circulation pump is also scheduled to be installed Thursday.

Tolstokoraya, who moved with her wife to Baltimore from out of state, said they didn’t have time to deeply consider their housing options when they relocated this past June. She said she trusted The Essential, a Hopkins-endorsed affiliate, to handle the needs of a niche population — frontline medical students, staff and their families.

She grew increasingly frustrated with each email declaration that the problem had been fixed. Tolstokoraya said she has negotiated an earlier end to their $2,500-a-month lease on a two-bedroom apartment.

At the end of the day, Tolstokoraya said, it came down to trust — not just comfort.

“It’s not what we expected,” she said.

This article has been updated to note that East Baltimore Development no longer co-owns The Essential.