The city and the owner of an apartment complex in Baltimore’s Brewers Hill that was partially evacuated due to structural problems are at odds over whether it had a rental license.

A city spokesman said Monday that Axel Brewers Hill had been operating without a city rental license for nearly a year.

A representative of Excelsior Communities, which bought the complex in 2021, said there’s been no lapse in its rental license.

The Baltimore Fire Department responded Friday to a reported water leak at Axel Brewers Hill, where a rooftop pool had buckled by about 4 feet. Fire crews, concerned about a collapse, evacuated the area underneath the pool and part of the building next to it. The building was partially condemned as crews worked to pump water out of the pool and awaited a structural engineer.

Excelsior, the owner of the 371-unit complex on South Eaton Street, had said Friday that engineers and repair specialists were called in to assess the damage. The New York-based firm said the damaged area was secured and posed no risk to residents or visitors.

On Monday, an Excelsior representative said none of the apartments have been evacuated and structural damage was limited to the pool and pool deck. Only parts of the building were temporarily evacuated during inspections Friday.

By late afternoon, “the entire building had been cleared and all residents were allowed back into their apartments,” said Ittay Mendelson, regional director for the property management company. “The only part of the building that is not in use is the pool.”

A city spokesman said Monday in an email that the owner failed to renew its rental license after it expired last year on Oct. 30. An inspection would have been required for the renewal, said Brian Lasan, a spokesman for the city Department of Housing and Community Development.

Licenses expire after one, two or three years, depending on a property’s violation history. Property owners that are unlicensed face citations of $1,000, he said.

About 33,000 rental properties in the city are in need of licensing, Lasan said.

The apartment complex, originally built as Alta Brewers Hill in 2020, underwent an inspection on Oct. 15, 2020 to obtain a rental license, a requirement for all city rental properties.

Based on its number of apartments, the Axel Brewers Hill complex was required to have 26 units and all common areas inspected, Lasan said. Property owners are required to hire third-party inspectors and use forms provided by the housing department.

In addition to being licensed, non-owner-occupied properties must be registered with the city’s housing department. The Axel registered on Dec. 27, but it did not send the city a copy of an inspection that would have been needed for a license renewal, Lasan said.

He said the Axel owner needs to make necessary repairs to obtain a license. That will include designing plans to stabilize the pool from below and getting repair plans approved.

The complex, across from Canton Crossing shopping center, touts other amenities such as a virtual sports center, coworking space and an “experience” kitchen.

Excelsior had said in a statement Friday that it is “actively working on a comprehensive repair plan,” and is “committed to resolving the issue as quickly as possible.”