Van Nuys : Judge Orders Landlord to Repair Apartments

After pleading no contest Tuesday to 10 violations of health, fire and building and safety codes at a Van Nuys apartment building, an Irvine man was ordered to make repairs by Feb. 14 and to pay $12,802 in fines and costs or risk the possibility of more punishment, according to City Atty. James Hahn.

Mulk Raj Chandna, 52, was sentenced by Los Angeles Municipal Judge David Minning after Chandna entered his plea to code violations at the two-story, 16-unit apartment building at 14542 Saticoy St.

Chandna and his wife, Rekha Chandna, 41, jointly own the building. Charges against Rehka Chandna were dropped after her husband’s conviction.

Chandna was also placed on three years’ summary probation, a condition of which is the Feb. 14 repair deadline, according to Deputy City Atty. Michael R. Wilkinson, a prosecutor in the Housing Enforcement Unit.

The charges stemmed from Slum Housing Task Force inspections conducted in June and July that revealed slum conditions, including no heat, broken smoke detectors, damaged doors and windows, security bars over windows without quick-release devices, leaky plumbing, peeling paint, a cockroach infestation, holes in walls, damaged electrical and plumbing fixtures and worn-out flooring, Wilkinson said.