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The owner of a Mt. Airy apartment complex is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging that he illegally collected rent from tenants while the property posed a “danger to life,” violating Philadelphia law.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Common Pleas Court, alleges that ownership continued to demand and collect rent at Upsal Garden Apartments despite the property being declared “unsafe” by the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections.

The designation, issued in August, was the result of “deteriorated stone foundation, fractured exterior masonry walls and deteriorated interior floor joists” — conditions the department determined were an “immediate danger or hazard to health, safety and welfare,” according to public records.

City and state law requires landlords to keep their properties safe and habitable. In Philadelphia, violators are barred from collecting rent until the property is compliant. To date, ownership has not addressed the violation.

“It’s hard to sleep at night after you see a declaration from L&I that the property is unsafe and that the building may need to be vacated or demolished if the violations are not corrected,” said the Upsal Garden Tenants Council in a statement. “We just want real accountability and the conditions fixed. Everyone should get to live with dignity, and we won’t stop until that’s the reality for all residents here.”