The owner of the Mont 44 apartment complex in Albuquerque will soon have 15 days to correct or appeal a spate of health and safety violations — including inadequate sanitation and fire hazards — after the concerns of a new tenant union spurred a weekend code enforcement operation.
The city Code Enforcement Division is set to issue violation notices to the owner, linked to an address in Mission Viejo, Calif., in the next day or two, Albuquerque Planning Department spokesperson Tim Walsh confirmed Wednesday.
Inspectors visited Mont 44 — an income-limited complex in the city’s Northeast Heights — on Saturday following the organization of about 90 tenants, who unionized in May and have sounded the alarm about ongoing sewage backups and other habitability issues.
“Code Enforcement has been out there numerous times for individual tenants over the years. This is the first time that the tenants have grouped together to speak with one voice, and we were happy to support them and help improve their living conditions,” city Planning Director Alan Varela said in a statement. “We will require corrective action and continue inspections to make sure these conditions are addressed.”
Over the past two years, the Albuquerque Police Department has received three times the number of calls for service at Mont 44 than at other apartment complexes in the area, according to a news release. Police have received 400 calls for service so far this year, 45 of which have led to arrests.
Tenants expressed concerns about safety at the 241-unit complex in previous interviews with The New Mexican. One mother of four young children said she was promised 24/7 security when she moved in — but had only seen personnel once in her seven months of living there.
Inspectors Saturday documented violations including:
- Structural hazards, such as damaged roofs and balconies.
- Inadequate sanitation, such as defective plumbing and rodent activity.
- Fire and electrical hazards, such as exposed wiring and burnt electrical outlets.
- Habitability concerns, such as inadequate air conditioning systems and damaged doors and windows.
- Property compliance violations, such as operating without a Certificate of Occupancy and construction without permits.
- Inadequate exits.
Earlier this summer, Mont 44 appeared on Albuquerque’s “Out-of-State Lazy Landlords List,” designed to hold non-local housing property owners accountable for repeated code violations and unsafe conditions. Nine other properties made the list, including another linked to the California address of Mont 44’s owner.
“When we launched the Lazy Landlord List, we said it wasn’t just about naming names, it was about accountability,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a statement. “Tenants spoke up and the City showed up because no one should have to live with sewage, dangerous living conditions while an out-of-state owner collects rent.”
The city will require “documented efforts” by the owner toward correcting the violations, according to the news release, and will continue inspections to verify compliance. Financial penalties have not yet been announced, but violations of Albuquerque’s Uniform Housing Code can lead to hundreds of dollars in fines.
“There is power in numbers,” Mont 44 tenant Dorian Vela said in a statement. “Our power that we are gaining is because of those numbers.”
