Renaissance Landlord Fined $500

A state judge ordered local landlord Matthew Harp to pay $500 in fines for now-fixed housing code violations at two of his company’s New Haven rental properties.

State Superior Court Judge Walter Spader, Jr. handed down that decision Tuesday during a public hearing of New Haven housing court’s ​“criminal docket.” The hearing took place in a third floor courtroom at the state courthouse at 121 Elm St.

Spader ordered Harp — whose real estate company Renaissance Management and its affiliates own and run many publicly subsidized low-income apartments across the city — to pay two $250 fines for two different housing code violations at two of his company’s New Haven rental properties. 

In exchange for Harp agreeing to pay the $500 in fines for two counts of violating state statute 7 – 148c, Senior Assistant State’s Attorney Donna Parker said on Tuesday, the state has agreed to nolle the other 28 housing-code-related infractions that Harp faced across five different criminal housing court cases.

Those housing code violations — all of which have now been addressed by Harp’s company — included damaged bathroom and kitchen ceilings at 46 Auburn St., rodent infestations at Unit #8 of 158 Shelton Ave. and Unit 5 – 1 of at 200 Shelton Ave., and cracked bathroom tiles and bedroom wall holes at 23 Vernon St., among other concerns. (Click here to read more about those Livable City Initiative-discovered housing code issues and repair orders.)

“He is now in compliance,” Parker repeated on Tuesday.

“These are infractions,” Judge Spader told Harp as he stood alongside his attorney, Karen Baldwin Kravetz. ​“It’s not a felony. It’s not a misdemeanor. It’s a resolution of the cases” that the state had brought against him.

That said, Spader asked Harp, do you agree that the state had sufficient grounds and reason to prosecute these housing-code-violation cases? 

“I agree that resolving the case is in my best interest,” Harp replied.

Spader smiled.

“That resolves the matter,” the judge concluded, ​“and hopefully we won’t be back for another. Thank you for resolving this matter.”

Click here to read a previous Independent article about how and why LCI-detected housing code violations can escalate to the point of prosecution. Click here, here, here and here for previous Independent stories about other landlords who have been fined through after going through housing court’s ​“criminal docket.”