Notorious Oakland Landlord Barred From Owning Rental Property

Oakland officials have issued a court order telling a notorious landlord the she must give up her properties and can never again own a multi-unit apartment building in the city.

Jesse Newmark with Oakland City Attorney's office said they have about 10,000 photos documenting fire, health, building and other code violations found at four properties owned by landlord Hong Ngyuen Gardner.

Newmark said Gardner has repeatedly ignored citations in one of the most egregious landlord neglect cases the city has seen.

"These are a lot of vulnerable tenants: low-income seniors, disabled people, immigrants. There's a lot of people who've been taken advantage of," said Newmark. "It's just unacceptable."

Earlier this year, KTVU investigated the complaints and found people living with roaches, rat traps, mold, broken toilets and other substandard conditions.

One building on Seminary Avenue caught fire last November. City officials said the building had no working smoke detectors.

Gardner argued she's the victim. She said many of the problems are due to tenants who didn't pay rent or broke fixtures.

Gardner told KTVU she's been overwhelmed by bills and tenant lawsuits.

"If I make mistake, I apologize [to the] the whole city if I make the mistake. But I try my best. I'm a human being," said Gardner.

Gardner must pay an $80,000 dollar fine. Tenants won't have to pay rent until the problems are fixed by a court-appointed manager who will put the properties up for sale.