Convicted Slumlord Misses 3rd Deadline : Housing: The county ordered the retired doctor to begin repairs on some of 72 rental units near Palmdale that have been declared substandard.

Convicted slumlord Dr. Milton Avol missed the latest in a series of county deadlines Tuesday to begin repairing some of the 72 decrepit rental houses he owns in an unincorporated area surrounded by Palmdale, Los Angeles County officials said.

The retired Beverly Hills neurosurgeon failed to comply with a county order issued two weeks ago that he begin repairs by Tuesday on at least two houses. In all, county building officials have cited 36 of his 72 houses as substandard, with some violations dating back to late 1991.

County officials said Tuesday they had not heard from Avol recently and now plan to board up the two unoccupied houses at his expense. Since late 1991, Avol has done little to correct leaky roofs, faulty plumbing and wiring, and other problems, officials said.

This is the third time Avol missed a final cleanup deadline. He has twice been given extensions to comply with orders that threatened demolition of his houses after complaining to county Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s office.

Avol gained notoriety in Los Angeles during the 1980s when he repeatedly was prosecuted for failing to correct slum conditions at five apartment buildings he owned. In the process, Avol became the first slumlord in Los Angeles to be sentenced to live in one of his own apartments.

Unlike their city counterparts, county officials say that as a matter of policy they rarely seek criminal charges against owners of slum properties for building code violations. And since county attorneys recently advised that demolishing the houses would be premature until other enforcement avenues are exhausted, building officials say they can take no stronger action against Avol than to board up his houses. The county could file a civil suit seeking a court order to force the repairs or to collect damages from Avol, but has not decided to do so.

O.B. Thompson, the county’s building rehabilitation supervisor, said Avol was to have obtained permits and made substantial progress on the two houses by Tuesday. Now, Thompson said the county will seal the houses this week and charge Avol the estimated cost of up to several thousand dollars.

Avol has missed repair deadlines on all 36 of his cited houses, but county officials have been pursuing them only gradually such as with the two that are furthest along in the enforcement process. Most of the cited houses have been vacant for months and have already been crudely boarded up by Avol’s managers.