Landlord Didn't Make Reasonable Efforts to Keep Premises Clean

DOS issued a violation notice to landlord for having a dirty area in front of his building. The DOS inspector saw a large accumulation of scattered cups, napkins, paper, and wrappers at the front and side of the building between 8 and 9 a.m. Landlord claimed that the inspector exaggerated the amount of debris and he cleaned the property every day, sometimes twice a day. Landlord claimed that pedestrians, including children from a nearby school bus stop, dropped garbage in front of his building. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $100. Landlord appealed and lost. Landlord didn't prove that "reasonable efforts" were made to keep the property clean. Landlord didn't explain when or why he might clean more than once a day. Given his testimony that the building was near a heavily trafficked intersection, once-daily cleanings with occasional second cleanings were insufficient to show that landlord made reasonable efforts to keep the area clean.

Beda: ECB App. No. 1200747 (9/27/12) [3-pg. doc.]