Landlord Illegally Converted One-Family House to SRO

DOB issued a violation notice to landlord for illegally altering a one-family dwelling into an SRO. The inspector stated that the second floor of the house had three illegal single-room occupancy units, each with a separate door and key. At a hearing, landlord claimed that he lived alone at the house and slept in one of three bedrooms on the second floor. He said the two other bedrooms were for his children, who were coming from China. The ALJ ruled against landlord and fined him $7,550. Landlord appealed. ECB ruled for landlord in part. Landlord's claims weren't believable. DOB found door locks on all of the three bedrooms and personal items indicating SRO usage of the rooms. But landlord did show that he lived in one of the rooms. So the per-day penalties should have been for two illegal rooms, not three. The total fine was reduced, and $2,250 was refunded to landlord.

Chen: ECB App. No. 43992 (5/1/08) [2-pg. doc.]