A Manchester tenement complex where a child was bitten by a rat failed another housing inspection on Tuesday, though a city inspector said he has seen a “big turnaround” in overall conditions.
City code inspectors allowed a reporter and photographer into a vacant apartment at 127 Orange St., where a 7-year-old child was bitten on Jan. 27.
“Honestly, it’s a big turnaround, big improvement, but nothing can be fixed overnight,” said inspector Tory Sykes.
Sykes said exterminators continue to trap some rats on the property, though numbers are down, and most of the rodents appear to be young.
The scheduled inspection was for a certificate of compliance, a permit the city issues every three years to ensure an apartment meets basic life and safety codes.
Since November, the landlord, Nashua-based Hinch-Crowley Realty Associates, has been trying to pass inspection.
On the initial inspection, the city noted 165 violations among the four buildings at 125-131 Orange St., Sykes said. Sykes preliminarily estimated that the number of current violations is about a quarter of the original.
Contractor Leo Pech walk through a apartment where with a city inspector at 127 Orange St. in Manchester on Feb. 28, 2023.
DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER
Sykes added a few new minor violations to the list, including a missing door knob, but said that overall he was pleased.
He noted that the cellars have been cleaned and that Hinch-Crowley has hired a handyman to work on the property. Also, the landlord has hired an extermination company. A “mandatory rodent extermination” notice posted on an apartment door showed visits every two or three days from Feb. 10 to March 3.
In a vacant apartment, a contractor had put in new flooring, painted walls and cabinets and installed a vanity.
Another inspection will take place in three weeks. In the meantime, an inspector will check on the property several times a week.
In an email, landlord Rob Crowley said he is continuing a plan that includes frequent exterminations, securing trash and cleaning up furniture. He said he also is addressing tenants who do not comply with their leases.
Critics have said the rat bite is evidence that the city does not enforce codes adequately, either because the city Planning and Community Development Department lacks the resources to do so or is negligent in following up on noncompliance.
City inspector Tory Sykes and contractor Leo Pech walk through the apartment complex at 127 Orange St.
DAVID LANE/UNION LEADER
Department head Jeff Belanger said the city displaces tenants only when absolutely necessary and when a landlord is addressing problems. If they are displaced, tenants have to find another apartment.
“If landlords are responsive and are working to fix violations that we find, we prefer to allow them to do that with the tenants in the building,” Belanger said.
The city will seek fines against unresponsive landlords, but that requires court hearings and the process can be slow, he said.
The vast majority of landlords respond quickly to code violations, he said.
The mother whose child was bitten in January has moved the family out of the apartment. As of two weeks ago, they were living in a family shelter.
Hinch-Crowley has agreed to pay the family $4,200, which includes reimbursement of her security deposit.
