Justice4justice’s Weblog

Michael Casello, Richmond Code Enforcement, called me this month, January 2016, alleging that he had a complaint from Richmond Department of Utilities (DPU) that there were problems with my hot water heater.  DPU had not been to the house and hence could not have made a complaint about that house.  The house is a rental property at 1104 Oakwood Ave, #1, Richmond, VA 23223.

Mr. Casello entered the property and told the tenants that he was there to check structural damage. He checked the hot water heater and he called me to tell me that my tenants did not have hot water.  He stated that the smoke detector had dead batteries.  He stated that the circuit breaker panel box did not have all of the breakers marked.  He stated the tenant told him that the washing machine backed up when they washed clothes.

When I came to the house a few hours after Mr. Casello left, the hot water was on. I informed Mr. Casello that the house had hot water.  The tenant told him that the hot water was on.

Mr. Casello questioned my tenant’s guest (the tenant’s brother)  about my property. The person that he talked to does not live there and he is not on the lease.  He told him that he had to let him know everything that was wrong in the house.  I was in the process of evicting the tenants because they had not paid the rent.  The tenants were angry with me because they owed me money.  (That is something that I find hard to understand; people getting mad with you because they owe you money.)

Michael Casello did not have the right to enter my property because he had not received a complaint about the property. Mr. Casello said that he had a complaint. The Code says when there is a complaint the investigation should be what the complaint was about. Casello said the complaint was about a hot water heat, but he went beyond that. Michael Casello went through every room, bedroom, bathroom, utility room pushing up windows, checking smoke detectors, looking in my panel box, looking for violations on my property.

Tell you tenants that Code Enforcement does not have the authority to search and inspect your house and that if they come, they should contact you immediately.  My house is in very good condition. No house can pass that the kind of scrutiny that Micheal casello conducted on my property because no house is perfect.