Widespread code violations prompt Roseville to consider revoking landlord's license

Roseville city officials are weighing revocation of the rental license for a 277-unit apartment complex, citing an "extraordinarily large amount of code violations" that include cockroaches and mice and potentially life-threatening problems such as missing or faulty smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

If the City Council votes to revoke the license at Monday's meeting, residents of the Marion Street/the Brittanys Apartments will be able to stay, but new renters won't be accepted until after the problems are fixed.

This is the first time city officials have considered revoking the license for a large apartment complex since it began licensing rental properties in 2014, said City Manager Patrick Trudgeon. Suburbs across the Twin Cities, including Roseville and neighboring Maplewood, have instituted rental licensing programs in recent years.

"We want to make sure everyone lives in safe and sanitary conditions," said Trudgeon, noting that the complex is full of families with young children.

G&G Management owns the property, made up of 12 buildings near the corner of Rice Street and Larpenteur Avenue. Company officials couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

But in a Nov. 17 letter to city officials, they said they "have a long history of responsible property ownership in the city of Roseville, having met or exceeded all known requirements" and have cooperated with city officials. They said that remains their goal for the future.

"However, we are concerned because we believe that despite our efforts, we have not been provided proper due process," they said, adding that the code violations provided by the city "lack specificity."

The apartment complex was inspected last spring and had its license renewed after making some corrections, Trudgeon said. Landlords typically are given ample notice for regular inspections and have time to prepare and select units for review, he said.

The Roseville Fire Department, which oversees the city's rental licensing program, in September began receiving an "abnormally high amount of complaints from the tenants" of the complex.

"We walked through 90 units and there was a 100 percent fail rate," Trudgeon said. "Roaches, bedbugs and other violations were pervasive in every unit and common area."

In a letter Nov. 4, the city ordered G&G to correct all problems. A follow-up inspection revealed the problems had not been adequately addressed, and G&G asked the city to give it until April 15, 2020, to take care of things.

City officials held a meeting with about 50 tenants on Nov. 12 and heard stories revealing additional code violations, Trudgeon said. A mother described her young daughter as covered in bedbug bites, he said.

Based on those accounts and G&G's "own admission [that] it will take five months to bring the property into compliance," he said, city staffers are recommending that the council revoke its license.

"We are glad to see they have a plan in place," Trudgeon said. "We need to make sure they follow through with it."

G&G Management is headquartered in North Oaks, according to state business filings.

Shannon Prather • 651-925-5037