Van Nuys : Slum Conditions Lead to Criminal Charges

City prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges this week against a couple accused of allowing slum conditions, including cockroaches, peeling paint and worn out floors, at a two-story apartment building they own in Van Nuys.

Mulk Raj Chandna, 52, and Rekha Chandna, 41, were charged with 28 violations of health, fire and building and safety codes at the 16-unit apartment building at 14542 Saticoy St., said Deputy City Atty. Michael R. Wilkinson.

The couple will be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Division 83, on Sept. 28, Wilkinson said. Each misdemeanor count carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and $1,000 in fines, he added.

The Chandnas, whose last known address was in Irvine, could not be reached for comment.

Inspectors who visited the building in May and July found several dangerous conditions, including broken smoke detectors, leaky plumbing, holes in walls, worn-out floors and peeling paint, Wilkinson said. On June 1, health inspectors ordered the Chandnas to correct the problems, but a subsequent inspection on July 5 showed no improvements were made, he said.

The charges were brought by the Slum Housing Task Force, created in 1980 to investigate and hold landlords accountable for allowing slum-like conditions at their buildings. During the fiscal year ending June 30, the task force brought more than 2,200 substandard units up to code, Wilkinson said.

The Saticoy apartment building had never come to the attention of inspectors before this year, Wilkinson said.

Meatpacker Rodolfo Colio, 37, who has been a tenant in the building for the past five years, said problems with leaky faucets in his apartment began about two years ago. But he added, “I don’t have big problems in my apartment.”

Wilkinson acknowledged the apartment building “is not the worst [case] we have ever had.” But he said, “All of them are pretty bad to get handled by our unit.”