Owners of three single-room occupancy hotels in San Francisco’s Chinatown must pay $810,000 in fines for failing to address years of slum conditions.
A legal settlement was struck between the City of San Francisco and landlords Jeff Appenrodt, Shailendra Devdhara and Kamlesh Patel to address the badly maintained hotels at 1449 Powell Street, 790 Vallejo Street and 912 Jackson Street, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
The owners must pay a combined $810,000 in civil penalties and address health and safety violations at the properties, the city attorney’s office announced.
The agreement is the result of a 2023 lawsuit brought by City Attorney David Chiu, who accused the landlords and five associated businesses of ignoring tenant complaints and notices of code violations since 2018. The names of the companies were not disclosed.
The court-approved settlement requires the owners of 1449 Powell Street to pay $780,000 in civil penalties and abate four remaining violations.
Patel, who bought 790 Vallejo Street and 912 Jackson Street in May 2023, will pay $30,000 in civil penalties, according to the Chronicle. He’s not tied to the violations at 1449 Powell Street.
“Let this be a lesson to all landlords who profit off of the suffering of their tenants,” Chiu said in a statement. “In San Francisco, there are consequences for depriving tenants of a safe and healthy place to live.”
Attorneys for the defendants didn’t respond to requests for comment from the newspaper.
The lawsuit alleges the owners illegally converted, combined or added unauthorized housing units.
The complaint also pointed to code violations that included broken plumbing, exposed electrical wiring, insect and rodent infestations, mold and mildew, unsanitary shared restrooms, lack of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and lead risks from paint.
Housing advocates credited the buildings’ tenants for refusing to tolerate slum conditions, along with the city code enforcement.
“This case is a great example of monolingual Chinese immigrant tenants standing up for their right to live in safe and habitable housing, and highlights the importance of the Department of Building Inspection’s Code Enforcement Outreach Program,” Malcolm Yeung, executive director of Chinatown Community Development Center, told the Chronicle.
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