Cleveland Sues "Negligent" Out-of-State Landlords, Property Managers of Embattled Shaker Square Apartments

The City of Cleveland is taking the managers and out-of-state owners of three Shaker Boulevard apartment buildings to Cleveland Housing Court for a string of violations that have gone unfixed as residents have dealt with "uninhabitable" living conditions.

If the lawsuit is successful, Judge Moná Scott will appoint a receiver to renovate, repair or demolish the Residences at Shaker Square and the Vista at Shaker Square.

Tenants say the properties are seriously neglected, suffering from black mold, leaks, lack of heat and more. Additionally, the city’s complaint cites lack of routine trash removal, lack of security — as demonstrated by the more than fifty police reports filed between January and September of 2022 — inoperable security cameras and failure to maintain fire extinguishers in the buildings.

In total, the city alleges more than 100 housing code violations and the complaint notes "there are reasonable grounds to believe that additional violations of applicable law will occur at the Premises."

Shaker Heights Apartments Owner, LLC, the current owners bought the properties in January of 2022 for $12.4 million and say the property neglect predates their ownership.

Part owner Yaacov Amar met with residents in February after Councilmember Deborah Gray flew to New York to confront the owners because she could not reach them by phone.

“We didn’t do any due diligence on the property when we bought it,” Amar told residents in the meeting. “Some people had bought it, but they didn’t have the money to buy the property, so they called us, and we bought the property because they didn’t have the funds for the property…At the time we didn’t even have management … It is my fault. I was not involved in the property a lot.”

In addition to Amar, the city of Cleveland is suing 21 other parties, including Michael Chetrit who the complaint identifies as "the party with ultimate decision-making authority and control over both Defendant limited liability companies" named in the suit.

Beyond the specific properties in question, Cleveland City Council and Mayor Justin Bibb's administration are aiming at more general fixes across the city as they reached a budget deal prioritizing enforcement of the housing code.

Additionally,  the Building and Housing Department is introducing enforcement reforms to better regulate properties owned by investors, like the Residences at Shaker Square and  the Vista at Shaker Square, according to director Sally Martin O’Toole.

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