Landlord Didn't Cure Illegal Basement Apartment

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord in December 2013 for failing to comply with a prior DOB order on four violations for creating an illegal Class A apartment with gas and waste lines in the building basement. DOB also sought an aggravated penalty. Landlord claimed that it couldn't gain access to legalize the condition because a tenant lived there and refused to leave. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined it $12,000 in light of the prior uncorrected violations. Landlord appealed and lost. Building Code Section 28-201.1 makes it unlawful to violate or to fail to comply with a DOB order.  Landlord argued that it repeatedly tried to remove the basement tenant in order to correct the condition. Landlord had started an eviction proceeding against tenant in September 2013. But landlord failed to show that it was either physically or legally impossible to comply with the DOB's prior order before the date of the new violation notice. Landlord presented no proof of any request to tenant to gain access without court intervention or that a court had barred access. Also, tenant moved out on Nov. 30, 2013, and landlord took no action to correct the condition before the violation was issued on Dec. 27.

Pandora Realty LLC: ECB App. No. 1400258 (6/26/14) [3-pg. doc.]