Matt Stiles continues investigating slum-like apartment buildings, and he found another one with a high-profile owner:
Code enforcement inspectors have issued three misdemeanor citations against Justice of the Peace Jim Richard of Sugar Land, alleging “unsafe” electrical conditions at a complex he owns in southwest Houston.
The inspectors say they warned Richard about the problems at the Braes Timbers Apartments in January but only issued the citations late last month when repairs were not made.
Richard, whose job includes presiding over disputes between landlords and tenants, also has not secured a “certificate of occupancy” — the basic document needed to rent apartments lawfully, officials say.
[snip]
“It’s very unfortunate that they dragged my name through the dirt,” he said. “I’m continuing to fix the tenant-caused problems, and had (inspectors) notified me, I would have corrected them before they gave me a citation.”
Susan McMillian, a deputy director in the city’s Public Works and Engineering Department, said code inspectors affixed a bright “red tag” sticker to a prominent wall on the complex in January. She said that it and another notice have since been removed, in violation of city code.
Richard is the second elected official in recent months to be under scrutiny over an apartment complex. Last month, inspectors issued citations under similar circumstances against Vo, a Houston Democrat who has pledged to make repairs at his properties.
Vo and Richard, a Republican elected in 1998, both own “Class D” properties — complexes at the lowest end of an economic scale used by appraisers. That fact surprises at least one consumer advocate.
“You’re in a glasshouse. Why would you allow this to happen?” said Dan Parsons, president of the Better Business Bureau of Metropolitan Houston Inc. “It’s so easy to find out, and you put yourself in harm’s way.”
On the Houston Politics blog, Stiles adds:
The Neighborhood Protection Corps has also ordered repairs at the property three times since last fall. Those inspectors found a damaged parking lot, broken windows, excess trash, loose railings and more.
