Landlord Denied Access for Inspection of Smoke Condition

DEP issued violation notices to landlord for not providing access for boiler room inspection and because black smoke was coming out of the boiler room at the time of the attempted inspection. Landlord claimed that his staff denied access to DEP's inspector because he didn't show proper identification. Landlord also claimed that he was short-staffed that day and no one was available to escort the inspector to the boiler room. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined landlord $1,070. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord's concierge had testified that the inspector initially refused to show ID, but that he ultimately showed his badge. Still, he remained suspicious of the inspector and wouldn't let him go to the boiler room without someone accompanying him. The concierge told the inspector to come back the following week. But the law requires landlord to make the boiler room "readily accessible" to DEP staff for inspection. The inspector had a legitimate need to inspect the boiler after he saw smoke coming from the building.

95 Madison Co.: ECB App. No. 43161 (5/29/08) [3-pg. doc.]