Click here for Mobile Site: http://m.wbztv.com
  • Font Size    
Advertising
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Dangerous Illegal Apartments On The Rise

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Apr 8, 2009 6:00 pm US/Eastern

Dangerous Illegal Apartments On The Rise

Reporting
Bill Shields
EAST BOSTON (WBZ) ― It's a problem that's just getting worse in this recession - people living in illegal apartments.

Last month, a father and two little boys died in Quincy when a fire broke out in their illegal apartment.

Quincy isn't the only city with a problem.

Officials in Boston say the economic downturn has forced many renters into illegal apartments and created so-called "slumlords" by the dozens.

In the basement of a triple-decker in East Boston, officers from Inspectional Services didn't like what they found Wednesday.

An illegal apartment - with two bedrooms and two families - all sharing a common living area with no ventilation.

"This is not good, not good," said Mike Okafor, one of the inspectors.

The basement apartment had no windows, and no vent in the tiny kitchen, or bathroom.

One smoke detector didn't work, and a sewer pipe from the upstairs apartments was exposed in the ceiling of the basement.

"A lot of times, there are too many people in the building, and that creates hygiene problems," said inspector Raul Jacques.

"They don't take out the garbage, and you end up with infestations of roaches and mice."

The inspectors called the owner, Genaro Leon, who showed up and told the officials he knew there were too many people in the building, but that he was afraid to evict anyone.

"I rent to four, but then there are others in there, and I'm afraid...they tell me to leave."

Leon has owned the triple-decker for five years, and claims the illegal basement apartment was there when he bought the building, and no one told him it was illegal.

Leon told WBZ, "There are thousands of buildings like this in Boston."

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

WBZ's Most Popular

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Boston Area News

Top News Stories

© MMX, CBS Corporation. All rights reserved.