City of Bellingham fines landlord for repeated building code violations
A Bellingham landlord has been fined $11,000 as part of the city’s renewed focus on building code violations under its rental registration law.
Blake Lyon, director of the Planning and Community Development Department, said the fine was issued for serious violations that the property owner wouldn’t fix.
A Bellingham Municipal Court ruling last week set the amount of the fine against Trevor Burke of Surrey, B.C., who owned the property at 1325 Billy Frank Jr. St., Lyon said in a phone interview.
Each of the 11 original charges carried a fine of $2,250 for a total of $22,550, but the penalty was reduced to $11,000 in a Jan. 24 hearing, The Herald learned in a public-records request.
In a phone interview, Burke said he couldn’t afford to make the repairs on the home, which is more than 100 years old. Contractor estimates were between $155,000 and $165,000 for repairs.
Burke said he sold the two-bedroom rental house in September 2023 and intends to pay the fine. Its sales price was $305,000 according to the Whatcom County Assessor’s Office website.
“I have the means. I’m not a deadbeat. I’m not a slum landlord,” he said.
Former resident Rebecca Quirke, a tenants rights activist, said the house was in constant disrepair. Heating was so poor that her pipes burst in December 2021, she said.
“The house was just vile,” Quirke said.
She said she moved out of the house in July 2023 after receiving a notice of non-renewal for her lease.
“It was very clearly retaliatory,” Quirke said.
Violations included “substandard and inadequate heating system, foundation cracks and breaks, unsafe exterior staircases and handrails, and inoperable windows and interior doors,” according to the Bellingham Police Department, whose code-enforcement officer issued the citation.
“Our code-enforcement officer at Bellingham Police Department worked with the property owner in an attempt to get voluntary compliance, to no avail. Instead of fixing the issues, the property owner sold the property. This case shows that walking away from the problem is not a viable solution or option,” according to a post on the BPD Facebook page.
Lyon said no one is living at the home, which is now owned by Adels Venture Group LLC of Bellingham, according to the Assessor’s Office.
Fines against Burke are the largest since Bellingham city officials have taken a tougher stance on the renter registration program by increasing fees and fines and focusing on poor living conditions, Lyon said.
An estimated 54% of Bellingham residents are renters, and housing prices have been steadily climbing — by an average of 17% last year, according to Herald reporting.
“There’s certainly a need in the community to have safe, secure and stable housing,” Lyon said.
This story was originally published February 7, 2024 at 4:00 PM.
