GREENSBORO, NC -- The City of Greensboro has finished their inspections of the Summit Ave Apartments where five children died after an apartment fire in May.
Fire investigators found the fire was caused by unattended cooking, although tenants said they had complained to the landlords about issues with the oven months before the deadly fire. Upon inspection, the city found several code violations in that and other units on the property, which led to them to re-inspect all the units.
The city's original inspection deadline was in mid-July. But the property owners asked for an extension, which the city granted. The new deadline was August 13.
After the 30-day extension period, the city's Code Compliance inspectors re-inspected the Summit Avenue Apartments on Monday, August 13. Based on the re-inspection, one unit is in compliance and 41 units were not repaired and remain in non-compliance with the City’s Minimum Housing Code. In addition to the 41 apartment units, there are three cases that remain non-compliant for violations on the exterior of the buildings.
Overall, 144 violations were cleared following the last inspection in May and 696 remain outstanding. The property owner, ARCO Realty, requested a 30-day extension on Monday, August 13. City officials denied the request and a Notice of Condemnation was issued to the owner on Wednesday, August 15, for the non-compliant units.
The Notice of Condemnation will also be sent to renters requiring the units to be vacated within 30 days. The units will be re-inspected in another 30 days to ensure that the condemned units are vacant.
A $200 civil penalty will be assessed for each non-compliant unit. Additional penalties of $10 per day may be assessed per unit until all repairs are made. All non-compliant units will be referred to the Greensboro Minimum Housing Standards Commission with requests for an order to repair to be issued.
The Greensboro Housing Coalition is working with people who live in the Summit Avenue Apartments to help them find another place to call home.
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