Avoid Getting Jailed For Water Damage Bronx

By Author: Leo Nov
Total Articles: 883
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Living a life of a landlord is a very lucrative business nowadays, and many investors are putting their hard-earned money or their retirement funds in buying apartment buildings or condominiums. With foreclosed properties selling at less than half their original worth, investing in homes for rent can be very profitable.

However, landlords should be responsible enough to maintain their rental properties and take care of any housing code violations in their buildings or units. Getting lax with these responsibilities, or deliberately ignoring code violations, can get a landlord jailed and fined. This has happened to a landlord in New York who was jailed for water damage Bronx violations and other building maintenance failures.

The landlord, who owns a 94-unit apartment building, was jailed for nine days and was fined $155,000 for 2,268 Housing Maintenance Code violations. These include water damage Bronx violations, structural failures like collapsed floors and ceilings, untended construction debris in populated areas of the building, and even a defective fire escape.

The six-story building at Dr. Martin ...
... Luther King Jr. Boulevard cost the city's Housing Maintenance department $55,000 worth of emergency repairs, from structural issues and a broken toilet that is causing water damage Bronx problems. The building was identified and included in the city's 200 most troublesome building that is badly in need of repairs.

The department is cracking down on landlords in the city and holding them accountable for violation for housing laws. It is the legal obligation of landlords to provide their tenants with safe and decent housing conditions, including adequate utilities and immediate remedial for structural and water damage Bronx issues. According to the housing commissioner, they will not hesitate to sue landlords and will implement the maximum sentences for such perpetrators. The Housing Department's Litigation Division has already processed 14,000 cases a year.

However, several sectors where criticizing the department for their slow action against this particular landlord. It was during the later months of 2006 when the department identified 1,400 violations in this building, including several cases of water damage Bronx violations. Critics were questioning why the department did not implement stricter and immediate sanctions against the landlord. The landlord signed an agreement with the department for a 90-day remedial period where the landlord should correct all identified structural and water damage Bronx code violations. Critics were angered with this decision, pointing out that tenants will suffer from this deal and would have to endure sub-standard living conditions.

The critics were proven right when further inspections after this period were performed by the department. They confirmed that instead of getting improvements, the number of violations actually increased to 2,100, with additional cases of structural and water damage Bronx code violations. The problem was so severe that the Housing Department had to evacuate three apartments due to safety risks for the occupants. It was enough to get a conviction, which sent the landlord to jail, including additional fines.

There are several other cases in New York with negligent landlords convicted or fined due to their inaction in dealing with structural and water damage Bronx code violations. These cases should serve as lessons for would-be landlords, and teach them to be responsible and humane in dealing with their tenants.
Leo Nov is an editorial staff member of RestorationSOS.com, a leading service provider for water damage cleanups. To learn more about Water Damage Cleanup Bronx, NY and Water Damage Restoration Bronx, NY, visit RestorationSOS.com.