Jan. 27--Chicago's Building Department published its first "problem landlords" list on its website Monday night in an attempt to crack down and publicly shame apartment building owners into providing tenants with basic services such as heat, hot water and working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
The list and interactive map though, is hard to find, tucked into the city's website under the Department of Building's home page.
Landlords on the list, which the city says it plans to update twice a year, are those that have been found to be liable in two or more administrative hearings within a two-year period and have at least three serious building code violations.
While on the list, they will not be able to obtain business licenses, zoning changes, acquire city land or receive city financial assistance or obtain any building permits that are not related to fixing problems at their buildings.
Offenders will have an opportunity to appeal their inclusion on the list, the city said. The worst could be forced to forfeit control of their buildings. That threat doesn't mean much to some landlords on the list.
"If they want the building, they can have it," said Thomas D'Aprile, whose Clarendon Hills-based Ravine Properties owns the first building on the city's list, at 1001 S. Mayfield Ave.
D'Aprile said Tuesday he didn't know about the list, hadn't seen it and "could care less." Nor will he fight his inclusion on it because, as he put it, he can't fight City Hall. For a few years, he has been unsuccessful at selling the 12-unit building for $570,000. He bought it in 2006 and added new windows and a new boiler, he said.
Inspection records of the building during the past seven years show problems with high weeds, a lack of building registration with the city, and rotted or out-of-code guardrails on porches, among other issues.
Tuesday, D'Aprile argued that issues at the building had been fixed. "Being a landlord in the city of Chicago is next to impossible," he said. "A landlord has basically no rights. Anybody that's interested in purchasing it, I'd be happy to get rid of it."
Records on another building on the list -- a four-unit building in the city's Chatham neighborhood -- show how daunting the task may be to correct issues.
Three times last year, the city cited the building's owner and assessed fines for problems with smoke detectors, hot water, heat and trash that could cause a "potential rat harborage." The city appointed a receiver to deal with the heat last winter after an inspection found that in one unit, the heat was off and the temperature was 46 degrees, according to city records.
In late October, the building was listed for sale in "as-is" condition for $35,000, saying it was an opportunity for investors and two of the units were occupied. While no sale deed has been recorded with Cook County, multiple real estate websites list the building as sold in early December for $65,000.
Last week, a City Council panel endorsed a proposed ordinance tied to its effort to improve rental buildings. At that time, the city said it would identify "bad landlords" but the list now is labeled "problem landlords."
The list includes the addresses for 45 buildings, owned by 59 individuals and corporate entities. Most of the apartment buildings cited are on Chicago's West and South sides. The community area with the most "problem" landlords and buildings is Austin, with six landlords and eight buildings.
The list is different than its building code scofflaw list, published annually, that identifies buildings owners with three or more problem properties.
mepodmolik@tribpub.com
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