Real Estate

Misdemeanor Complaint for City Municipal Code Violation(s): Defense and Disposition

A complainant, usually a dissatisfied tenant, reports alleged violations of the City’s Municipal Code to the City’s Housing Department. A Department of Housing inspector conducts a systematic inspection in accordance with the City’s Housing Code, Los Angeles Housing Code Section 161.602.1, if the property is located in Los Angeles.

The inspector finds several violations during the inspection in the presence of the property owner, property manager or representative.

The City Department of Housing issues a Notice and Order of Compliance, listing and documenting the violations. The property owner makes corrections for the violations.

The re-inspection is done by the same City Housing Department inspector or by another inspector. Some violations are corrected, but others remain from the previous inspection. The inspector takes photographs documenting the remaining violations.

General Manager Audience:

The remaining violations or deficiencies have not been signed off as completed.

A Department of Housing inspector posts the General Manager’s Notice of Hearing for a specific date. In fact, pursuant to Los Angeles Municipal Code Sections 161.801 and 161.805, whenever a violation has not been corrected within the time established for compliance, the General Manager must hold a hearing.

A General Manager Hearing is held. The property owner or agent is present. The property owner is given a sixty-day continuance.

Another re-inspection takes place revealing more fixes, but some violations from the previous inspection still remain. A General Manager Hearing is held again; and the property owner was given another sixty day reprieve.

After two months, a General Manager Hearing is held again. The property owner does not have additional time to correct the remaining violations. The Hearing Officer recommends that the case be prepared and submitted to the City Attorney’s Office for prosecution.

misdemeanor complaint Submitted by City Attorney:

Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen A. Trutanich, through an Assistant City Attorney, files a four-count misdemeanor lawsuit for each of the remaining four violations, namely: Count 1 for violation of Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) Sections 93.0314 and 93.0201 for wiring and installing a meter outside the building without permits; Count 2 for violation of the aforementioned sections of the LAMC for installing basement wiring without permits; Count 3 for violation of LAMC Section 94.500 for installing a water heater without first obtaining a permit; and Count 4 for violation of LAMC Section 91.805 for failure to discontinue use of porch enclosure and construction of roof extension without permits.

Each of the four violations is charged as a misdemeanor, punishable under Section 19 of the California Penal Code by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed six months, or a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). , or both.

Defense To Municipal City Code Violations:

Violations of the Municipal Code documented by photographs taken by a property inspector and searching Department of Building and Safety records that permits have not been applied for or issued to the property owner are hardly defendable in court.

Submitting a schedule or schedule for abatement or correction of deficiencies to the Deputy City Attorney would go a long way toward obtaining a continuation of the prosecution of the property owner who made the mistake.

In fact, prosecution generally gives the property owner more time to correct violations, even when the safety of the property’s occupants is a primary concern. Even more so, if so much money is needed to make the corrections.

Submission of estimates of repairs and corrections to the prosecution and good faith efforts to comply with the hope of obtaining a dismissal of the claim, or a reduction of the claim from misdemeanor to infraction for payment of the claim is strongly encouraged. fine and assessed costs, if applicable.

Available Misdemeanor Complaint:

If all corrections of deficiencies are approved as completed upon re-inspection by a City Housing Department inspector, the prosecution may be ordered to dismiss the Complaint.

If the corrections were slow to complete or were not completed, the prosecution cannot dismiss the complaint and seek a misdemeanor or infraction conviction.

If the property is repossessed with uncorrected violations, the lawsuit against the owner of the repossessed property may be dismissed.

But the new owner will most likely be subject to the same inspection process by the City Housing Department, and even prosecution by the City Attorney, if the new owner fails to correct the deficiencies.

However, be fair warning that notorious “slumlords” have been jailed for repeated and uncorrected violations of the City’s Municipal Code.

(The author, Roman P. Mosqueda, has practiced as a defense attorney for property owners accused of City Municipal Code violations in Los Angeles, Long Beach and elsewhere for more than 15 years. He is a long-time member of the Council California Public Defenders Association. Email your comments to [email protected], or call (213) 252-9481 for a free consultation, or visit their website at http://www.mosquedalaw.com.)

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