An unusual housing discrimination case

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For only the third time in the past decade the City of Buffalo is using its fair housing law to sue a landlord and his property manager.

The city usually prosecutes negligent property owners in City Housing Court, but for reasons officials refuse to discuss, the landlord was never taken to Housing Court despite a history of repeated code violations.

The case involves a property at 323 Dewey Ave. in northeast Buffalo. The lawsuit contends mold inside the house caused health problems for tenant Zakkiyya Carter and her underaged son.

The city is suing Kapil Verma, his company Vaastu Energy LLC, and Towne Housing Real Estate, which managed the property.

City inspectors visited the two-family home six times between July 2022 and March 2023 and cited it for 11 code violations that weren’t corrected until May 2023. The Erie County Department of Health also cited the property for code violations. 

“They cited the landlord for these issues but then, it didn’t seem like there was really an effective way to force him to remediate the mold,” said Daniel Corbitt, attorney for the civil rights organization Housing Opportunities Made Equal.

Verma could not be reached for comment. Towne Housing Real Estate did not respond to calls and emails requesting comment. Neither did the city’s Department of Permits and Inspections.

A spokesperson from the Erie County Department of Health told Investigative Post in a statement that the county doesn’t generally make immediate Housing Court referrals or issue immediate fines, and that code enforcement related to issues like mold exposure is the city’s responsibility.

“In limited circumstances, the ECDOH may have some authority to require that building owners eliminate conditions (e.g., leaking pipes) that could be causing mold overgrowth, but in many cases, moisture issues in buildings are caused by structural problems (e.g. leaking roof or gutters). Structural issues are handled by the local Building Inspector, in this case, the city of Buffalo,” the statement said.

In its lawsuit, the city argues that the “unlawful refusal of reasonable accommodations following notification of a medical disease or disability” constitutes discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act. The city is seeking a total of $36,097 in damages.

Verma sold the property in February 2024 for $128,500. 

Carter moved into Verma’s Dewey Avenue property in 2016 and she said she didn’t have any problems until January 2020, when she began experiencing what she believed to be severe allergies. She attributed her symptoms to dust in the vents, but after her landlord had them cleaned, she continued to experience trouble breathing, weakness, and exhaustion, among other symptoms. 

In August 2020, she found black mold growing underneath the shower tiles in her bathroom, and she began experiencing more health issues.

“I’m not knowing what’s going on with me at all. I mean, hair falling out, respiratory problems, nervous central problems, muscle weakness, you name it,” she said.

In July 2022, Carter was diagnosed with asthma and low potassium resulting from toxic mold exposure. Her son, who was about six years old at the time, also experienced respiratory problems, including chest pains and nosebleeds. Additionally, she believes he developed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as a result of mold exposure.

“Although the underlying cause of his diagnosis remains unclear, his doctor has indicated that her research suggests exposure to mold may contribute to the development of ADHD in young children,” Carter said.

Later that month, both city and county inspectors cited the property for violations including mold growth in the bathroom, kitchen and basement, as well as electrical deficiencies, damaged windows and a leaking roof. 

Following the inspections, an agent from Towne Housing Real Estate informed Carter that the company had assumed property management duties for her apartment and that they would make necessary repairs. 

Carter said she began withholding rent and denied maintenance workers access to the apartment because she questioned the company’s legitimacy. She received a letter stating that Towne Housing Real Estate had been managing the property since June 2021, but subsequent correspondence revealed that they hadn’t assumed responsibility for the property until December 2022.

“I wasn’t letting them in the house until they gave me some type of black-and-white paperwork that was authenticated, saying that they are the actual property management of the house and landlords of the house. Once they did not do that, that’s when all hell broke loose because I kept on standing my ground,” Carter said.

After inspectors failed to prosecute the owner and management company in Housing Court, Carter filed a complaint with Cardwell, the city’s fair housing officer, in January 2023. A month later, she was evicted for nonpayment of rent. She filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court against Verma and Towne Housing Real Estate in June. The litigation is ongoing.

Last October, Cardwell determined probable cause for discrimination against Verma and Towne Housing. Both parties declined multiple offers from the city to settle without a trial. On February 15, the city filed its lawsuit, claiming Carter experienced disability discrimination because the property’s owner and managers failed to make reasonable accommodations for her illnesses. The suit also describes Carter’s eviction as “retaliatory” for her complaint to the county health department.

Corbitt, of HOME, said the city’s slowness to prosecute landlords who fail to remedy code violations often leads tenants to file complaints with Cardwell, the city’s fair housing officer, even if they’re not necessarily fair housing issues.

“The city’s Fair Housing law makes it clear what his role is, and if you have him trying to be this quasi-code enforcement officer as well, is that an effective use of his time? Is he actually able to carry out his other duties, which are very important as well?” Corbitt said.

Cardwell refused to comment, citing the pending litigation.

Corbitt — who was not involved in the investigation or lawsuit — said that while he doesn’t dispute the city’s claims of discrimination in Carter’s case, he questions whether fair housing violations or a lack of code enforcement are at the root of the concerns raised in the lawsuit.

“Folks are just dealing with really awful conditions, and they have nowhere to turn to, so they’re just reaching out to anyone that can help them potentially. But fair housing law and municipal code enforcement are very different,” he said.

Investigative Post in 2018 reported on Buffalo’s failure to enforce its fair housing laws, which have been in place since 2006. Findings at that time revealed that many fair housing complaints had gone unresolved for years and key seats within the department had remained vacant for extended periods of time.

A 2013 University at Buffalo study called the law “a failure on substantive grounds due to the lack of implementation.”

The city has since made few efforts to use the courts to combat fair housing violations.

In 2018 city attorneys filed a Fair Housing Act violation lawsuit against landlord Richard Mazella and his wife for evicting tenant Jackie Crouch after refusing to fill out her Section 8 paperwork. The case ended in $4,500 in fines and a one-year suspension of the Mazellas’ rental licenses.

In 2022, the city sued Russell Fulton and Daryl Ervolina for claims of racial steering, hostile environment harassment, race and sex-based discrimination against former tenants Lamiyay Johnson and Aliya Grant-Whittaker.

The suit raised accusations of sexual harassment as well racist and gender-discriminatory remarks directed at tenants Johnson and Grant-Whittaker, who are both Black. Fulton allegedly sent harassing letters to the tenants, cut service to their utilities, and accused Cardwell — who is also Black — of being related to them after they made a fair housing complaint.

I'Jaz Ja'ciel