Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt - Landlord Forum thread 119198

Re: Received Violation Notice of Illegal Apt by Westchester NY on March 18, 2006 @15:18

First, I will take it as gospel that your brother is in fact mentally retarded. What is his age, however. Could make a difference. Second. Your first mistake was, when you called the building inspector, to ask them, in so many words "should I remove the sink, the stove?" Whatever. Third, how do you know for sure that inspector did or did not go into the upstairs apartment? Fourth, is your house a true, LEGAL 2-family home? This could be learned from the assessor's records in your town. IF you have a LEGAL 2-family home, and there ARE two stoves only, there should be no problem. Most important -- here in the U.S. we're supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. It's not up to you to prove your innocense; it's up to the town to prove their case, to prove that you've done something in violation of code. Phone the building dept and ASK QUESTIONS ... but do not divulge any further information. In other words, don't volunteer info because your own words could prove their case. Me, I'd look at the violation and jot down the section of the law they say I violated. Then I'd go to the library and check to code book to read what the violation states. This, at least, would show me what they say I've violated. Good luck.

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