MIAMI – A Miami apartment receiver's monthly reports document funding challenges, while community organizers express frustration with the pace of repairs.
"The people who live in these apartments, they count," said P.U.L.S.E. Executive Director Nathaniel Wilcox.
Last May, Local 10 News investigative reporter Christina Vazquez documented tenants living in deplorable living conditions at nine buildings located in Liberty City and Overtown.
State records show the buildings are owned by companies run by Denise Vaknin of New Jersey.
When the city of Miami filed suit in October of 2014, they said property owners owed more than $2.4 million in unpaid fines.
In a court document filed Wednesday afternoon, it is revealed the final judgment number now exceeds $3 million.
A permanent injunction was also issued in favor of the city of Miami.
"The defendants are temporarily enjoined from allowing or causing new tenants to inhabit these properties until all violations are complied," the document states.
As a result of the on-going Call Christina investigation, two new state bills have been proposed that provide criminal penalties to hold negligent landlords responsible.
Part One: "Left To Rot" investigation: Miami residents living "like we are dogs" say landlord doing nothing to help.
Part Two: "Left To Rot" investigation: Miami apartment buildings in deplorable conditions. What person identified as responsible had to say.
Part Three: "Left To Rot" investigation: Miami apartment buildings in deplorable conditions. The fight for a new state law.
In a statement, Renee Marie Smith, an attorney retained by Denise and Abe Vaknin told Local 10 News, "We are cooperating with the court and the receiver. The goal has been to preserve these 147 housing units. We are working to preserve low-income housing in areas of Miami-Dade County that desperately need it."
THE VAKIN-RUN PROPERTIES:
For years people in the Vaknin-run buildings have said they have been living with mold, crumbling balconies, electrical issues, sewage leaks, and roaches. There was even a ceiling collapse.
City and state inspection reports had documented years' worth of health, life and safety violations.
The issues allowed to fester as the buildings were left to rot. Property owners ignored violations, millions of dollars' worth of fines and even a city of Miami lawsuit.
In June, a judge granted the city's motion for default judgment and receivership.
READ: City officials move closer to improving Liberty City tenants quality of life.
RECEIVER'S REPORTS:
The receiver's monthly reports document on-going efforts to repair years-worth of decay.
That includes hiring a new property manager, securing insurance, pulling permits and hiring an electrician "to rectify certain potentially unsafe conditions." The receiver states they have been replacing non-operating smoke detectors, executing pet extermination services, entering into fire alarm maintenance contracts, repairing units, installing new bathtubs, repairing walls and boarding up vacant units to prevent vandalism.
By September, the receiver writes that, "while the properties still need substantial repairs, the properties are beginning to stabilize."
"Yes, they are better off," said former state and federal prosecutor David Weinstein who read Linda Leali's monthly receiver reports. "The tenants who pay their rent every month are absolutely better off. They are not having to worry about tenants who are not paying their rent, who are drawing down on resources that are available to both the property owner and the property manager. People who are living there should start to see some signs of habitability returning to these premises."
In his opinion, "The receiver is doing a much better job at maintaining these properties than any of the original property holders were...she's addressing the problems that the city identified, she's addressing the problems that tenants have identified. They are repairing balconies, installing fire alarms, they made electrical repairs, they have evicted people who have not been paying their rent, they have boarded up vacant residences there so people are not squatting and moving in, they are really trying to shape up these properties to put them in a condition that is both livable and if there is a suitable purchaser someone is going to want to come in and buy these properties. The property management company is a company that’s bonded in the state of Florida that is authorized to work in the state of Florida. They have an incentive to make sure the property they are now managing stays in habitable conditions."
According to the receiver, the previous property manager, "worked with properties owned by Denise Vaknin in Texas and began work at the Properties in approximately April of 2015." Leali stated that neither the company, "nor its principals maintain a real estate license in Florida."
CASH FLOW PROBLEM:
The reports also highlight the receiver's chief challenge: money, there's not enough of it.
When the receiver took over, she states in a report, one of the buildings was on a nearly complete rent strike.
The rent revenue currently generated isn't enough to make repairs and renovations in a "rapid fashion," she writes.
The receiver also states that she has been trying to secure third party financing.
During this time, the property owners continue to try and fight the judgment in court. That continued litigation the receiver notes "creates an environment that is unfriendly to lenders."
Emails requesting a statement from the attorney court records show are representing Denise and Abe Vaknin in on-going litigation went unanswered.
Following a July fire at 1710 NW First Court, the receiver notes how several adjacent units were severely damaged "because of the large volume of water used by the emergency crews. As a result of the water damage multiple tenants were displaced from their units. During the second period, substantial resources were spent fixing the units that were damaged by the water so that displaced tenants could be returned to their units."
Related Links:
Apartment fire at building subject of city lawsuit
Cause of Miami apartment fire undetermined, fire officials say
STATE INSPECTIONS:
The Call Christina team has also been reviewing Department of Business and Professional Regulation Division of Hotels and Restaurants Lodging Inspection Reports dating back to June when the Order Appointing Receiver was granted.
Violations persist. Several buildings lack balcony: railing safety, certification.
In an August report at 1710 NW First Court, state inspectors noted broken windows and torn window screens.
In October, state inspectors noted broken windows, a hole in the wall, air conditioning unit dripping water, and establishment operating without a license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants at 1250 NW 62nd St.
An Oct. 16 inspection report at 6040 NW 12th Ave. shows that there was a high priority violation for an observed stairway railing that is loose. The inspector notes that there is “ccondensations or other drainage not disposed of properly and/or causing sanitary nuisance. Air continuing units are dripping water onto the walkways on every floor of the building."
At 1231 NW 61st St.state inspectors noted in October overgrown lawns and trash/debris on the ground.
At 1341 NW 60th St. inspectors noted just one basic violation of a dumpster lid open in a November report.
The receiver notes that during the second period she worked with the state to resolve filed administrative complaints related to unresolved violations.
"The result of such efforts was an agreement by the Receiver to use the $2,200 of proposed fines to fix the properties and to correct the noted deficiencies in exchange for a dismissal of the Administrative Complaints," Leali said. "The Receiver also submitted applications to the FDBR to obtain the necessary state licensing for five of the properties which presently were unlicensed."
FRUSTRATED TENANTS:
The "Call Christina" team visited with P.U.L.S.E. Executive Director Nathaniel Wilcox as he met with tenants at one of the buildings.
"The problems are shifting from one area to another," he stated in frustration. "People are still suffering and people should not live like this."
Weinstein called it a matter of perspective.
"It took a long time for these properties to go into the disrepair that they were found in when you did this story originally," he said. "When people were coming to you saying, 'I can't live in my apartment,' it is not going to happen overnight that the repairs are made and it has to happen a little bit at a time.
Weinstein said the receiver's monthly reports chart a significant change.
"They made big strides in what’s going on there, so people have to be patient," he said. "At least those people who are paying their rent, and are complying with their obligation, are living in a space that is far more habitable than it was when you first talked to them. There may be repairs that are bigger in the eyes of the tenants but there are certain repairs that are going to make these buildings habitable. First and foremost the electrical has to be up to code and it has to be working so that's not going to be something that appear to tenant that's a big repair, they are more concerned about the hole in their ceiling or the hole in the wall, so they are trying to address what may be in the eyes of the tenants smaller things that are not visible to them but they are matters that should have been done a long time ago and it is just putting these properties into livable condition."
During the third period the receiver states she, "learned that the properties had been allegedly places on a "Do Not Pay" list by Miami-Dade County. As a result tenants at the properties are not entitled to receive HANDS benefits from Miami-Dade County to assist in rent payment. The receiver intends to work during the next reporting period to have the properties removed from this list."
Wilcox is focused on pending legislation that provides criminal penalties for negligent landlords.
"We can't just give up, we can't just throw up our hands. The people who live in these apartments, they count," he said.
P.U.L.S.E. website: http://pulsemiami.com
The receiver's next report is expected to be filed on Thursday.
PROPOSED LEGISLATION:
As a result of the "Left to Rot" Call Christina investigation state Rep. Daphne Campbell (D-Miami) introduced new legislation that provides criminal penalties to hold negligent landlords accountable.
"This was a well thought out and intelligent way to amend existing legislation," Weinstein said. "This amendment puts some teeth into the current law and puts landlords on notice that their inhumane treatment of their tenants will not be tolerated. By making a first violation a misdemeanor, it will only allow law enforcement to make an arrest if they personally observe the violation. This will also allow for coordinating with the State Attorney's Office when tenants have complaints."
State Senator Oscar Braynon filed an identical bill in the senate.
READ: Florida Rep Campbell drafts bill to hold “slumlords” accountable
The Call Christina Team checked-in with ever member of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation to gauge support.
"I commend Representative Campbell and Senator Braynon for shedding light on to this serious issue affecting many in our community," stated state Sen. Anitere Flores. "I am supportive of this bill."
State Rep. Barbara Watson tells Local 10 News, "It is imperative that we hold negligent landlords accountable for the conditions they put their tenants in."
On Monday the office for state Rep. Joseph Geller said the representative intended to co-sponsor HB 53.
State Sen. Dwight Bullard told Vazquez, "I wholeheartedly believe that these negligent landlords need to be held accountable."
State Rep. Cynthia Stafford explained she filed HB 849 which "provides conditions under which court may waive requirement that tenant pay rent into registry of court; revises provisions relating to default judgment upon waiver of tenants' defenses."
Click here to contact members of the 2014-2016 Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation.
STATEMENT:
In a statement, Renee Marie Smith, an attorney retained by Denise and Abe Vaknin told Local 10 News, "We are cooperating with the court and the receiver. The goal has been to preserve these 147 housing units. We are working to preserve low-income housing in areas of Miami-Dade County that desperately need it."
"It didn't appear despite what their attorney is saying, from the condition these properties were in when they went into receivership, that they were doing anything to maintain the properties," stated Weinstein.
UP FOR SALE?:
The receiver's report also makes mention of possible efforts to sell the buildings. Receiver Linda Leali writes, "During the Fourth Period, the Receiver spent time responding to various information and meeting requests of the Defendants in their efforts to sell the Properties located in the Overtown area of Miami."
Property owners would need court approval now that the buildings are in receivership.
There have also been changes to zoning impacting some of the buildings. "Several of the Properties are missing valid certificates of use from the City of Miami,” writes Leali in her second report. "Certain of the Properties are located where there has been a zoning change from multi-family residential to single family/duplex. The Receiver is working to procure these certificates of use by seeking an exception under a newly passed program by the City of Miami that helps property owners recapture previously established permissible uses where the certificate of use has expired less than five years prior."
In her report filed 09/20/15 Leali explained, "After a meeting with the City of Miami during the Third Period, the receiver has recently learned that these properties will need special dispensation to recapture previously established permissible uses where the certificate of use had expired more than five years prior and/or never existed. It is uncertain whether special dispensation is obtainable."
RELATED LINKS:
Property owners say city suit ignored because of state inspector
Tenants of dilapidated apartment file lawsuit against 'slumlord millionaire'
Officials: Apartments in deplorable conditions a "city-wide" problem
Evictions possible if tenants in Vaknin-run properties don't start paying rent