Code Problems In Building In Foreclosure Threaten Tenants With Loss Of Homes

In Albany, New York, the Albany Times Union reports:

• As their foreclosed building awaits sale, the dozen or so residents of 180 Washington Ave. may be turned out of their apartments Monday because of lingering code violations. The seven-story brick-and-limestone building just below Lark Street has eight occupied units and has been the focus of legal action for inadequate smoke detectors and corridor lighting for about a year, according to Valerie Scott, division supervisor for the city Department of Building and Codes.

• Six months ago, a foreclosure proceeding was brought against former owner Hatzlocha Realty. Tenants now pay rent to a designated trustee, lawyer Daniel Centi, but say that until a new owner is found, no one will make needed repairs to the building. [...] Sandy Levan, an advocate with United Tenants of Albany, faulted the city for not being more stringent in enforcing building codes. A law passed in 2006 gives municipal courts the power to mandate repairs, something not done in the case of 180 Washington Ave. [...] "We all pay our rent and we want to stay," said Shirley Castle, 74, a retiree who has lived in the building for 13 years.

For more, see Tenants threatened by code problems (Foreclosed Albany building could be declared uninhabitable).

For other stories on tenants unknowingly renting homes in foreclosure, go here, or here, or here. equity skimming unwittingly delta