Apartment company co-owned by Jared Kushner files hundreds of eviction notices: report

An apartment company owned in part by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner has filed hundreds of eviction notices against tenants who have fallen behind on rent during the pandemic, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The affected properties of Westminster Management, a unit of Kushner Cos., are mostly rented to low- and middle-income families in the Baltimore area, the newspaper reported.

An eviction moratorium in Maryland prevents state courts from removing tenants, while a federal order offers protections to renters amid the coronavirus pandemic. The federal protections, which do not prohibit landlords from filing eviction notices or removing tenants for property damage or criminal activity, are slated to expire at the end of the year, raising concerns among experts that 2021 could start with a wave of evictions.

The Post reviewed company filings and interviewed more than a dozen tenants of Westminster properties, some of whom said they fell behind on rent due to job or wage losses during the pandemic.

Kushner, who is President Trump’s son-in-law, has maintained his ownership stake despite resigning from his family’s business when he began working for the White House, the Post reported.

Christopher W. Smith, general counsel for Kushner Cos., released a statement for the company saying, “Westminster has comprehensively abided by all federal, state, and local orders regarding residential tenancies during the Covid-19 pandemic … and will faithfully continue to do so.”

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment.

Westminster Management was sued by Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) last year over its management practices, the Post reported. Frosh alleged that the company collected illegitimate application and eviction fees and illegally took tenants’ security deposits. The company has called the suit politically motivated and challenged it in court.