A landlord in Columbus, Ohio is facing revocation of his parole and potentially one year in jail. The landlord, Sam M. Vazirani, was the owner of a property that was cited for 20 code violations in 2009. The property was ordered to be vacated.
The problem is, Vazirani never followed these orders. He continued to rent out the property and two years later, in 2011, three people were killed in a fire at that very same property.
After the fire, Vazirani was ordered by a judge to sell all rental properties he owned and was also prohibited from managing rental properties. Vazirani, however, is being accused of failing to adhere to these orders. He allegedly purchased new rental properties and sold the deeds to the properties he already owned to family, friends or colleagues.
Vazirani denies these allegations. If convicted, he could face up to a year in jail.
As a rental property owner, it is your duty to protect the safety of your tenants. This case shows an extreme example of what can happen if you fail to adhere to local property and safety codes. Even though you may not agree with all the laws, as with any other profession, you must still follow them to make sure you and your tenants are protected.
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Thanks for the article. Slum lords, in my opinion, belong in jail.