“Apparently, the place was owned by an elderly Vietnamese man. His daughter would show up once a month to collect the rent and residents were instructed to tell her they only worked, not lived there. At one point electricity was illegally pilfered via extension cords from an adjacent structure. “
Under the law, he’s the one who’s really on the hook here. But where has the city ( and the Fire Department for sure) been? I own a commercial building in the SF Bay Area and I can tell you that I routinely get inspections from the Fire Department in the city where the property is located, and so do each of my tenants individually.
A city inspector responded to a complaint (reportedly about people living there) filed last month, but was unable to gain access to the interior of the building.
The lawyer Mark Geragos complained about this on his podcast this week. He thinks they only inspect buildings and businesses that look like they can afford to pay fines. That it's really about money and nothing else.
“Under the law, he’s the one who’s really on the hook here. But where has the city ( and the Fire Department for sure) been? I own a commercial building in the SF Bay Area and I can tell you that I routinely get inspections from the Fire Department in the city where the property is located, and so do each of my tenants individually.”
And what would happen to you and/or one of the tenants who refused the FD access??
City employees are people, with all their inherent flaws. I've had disputes with building inspectors in several cities, due to feuds with neighbors, and got the inspectors off my back. One was demanding access, and I forcefully told him no way and he never came back. In another, I argued in a call to the department head and he told me he tore up the case notices and there would be no more inspections. As a side note, I got them to come down hard on the bad neighbors. Some inspectors are diligent and fair, some others not so much. Some are lazy and just get by.
This reminds me of a news story that was on a tv magazine show. Some human traffickers in New York City had an illegal factory. The factory workers were illegal aliens who were locked in the building day and night. It made me wonder how they could have an illegal business right in the middle of a large city. As you mentioned, all cities have building inspectors that have to drop in unannounced from time to time but it seemed that these slave labor owners were not afraid of being caught. Things that make you go hmmm.