Risky rentals? Neighbors say rooming house run by business causes crime, violates city code – WSB-TV Channel 2

Channel 2 Action News I obtained a photo of the first notice posted on the door of the Collier Heights home from 2022 for operating an illegal rooming house and other charges.

But this house is still operating as a PadSplit and no case has been heard in court almost 2 years later.

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“They divided it into 10, 10 different rooms,” said Collier Heights resident Heather Allen.

They called them boarding houses or rooming houses.

PadSplit offers rooms for weekly rental.

“There’s a bathroom in the middle of the living room,” said Collier Heights resident Ricardo Mosby.

PadSplit has an easily searchable website and a CEO who speaks the language of a tech startup on social media.

But for neighbors in Atlanta’s historic Collier Heights neighborhood, none of that changes what the house brings to their neighborhood zoned for single-family homes.

“There was a murder,” Holmes said.

“First you see the cops with guns, then a few weeks later it’s cordoned off with yellow tape,” Mosby said.

Collier Heights is not only a single-family neighborhood, it is also a designated city historic district.

Any modifications to the homes must meet specific criteria in the neighborhood built by African Americans, for African Americans during the height of the civil rights movement.

“For someone to come and put a rooming house in the middle of this city is outrageous,” said Atlanta City Council member Michael Julian Bond.

He said running a rooming house, a PadSplit out of home, was illegal.

“If you’re going to take the interior and cut it up, that’s an absolute violation of the city’s zoning code,” Bond said.

“How do they get by?” » asked Gray.

“I think they’re doing it and waiting to get caught,” Bond said.

But they were caught.

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Channel 2 Action News violations discovered regarding address after an open records request and visit to Atlanta Municipal Court.

In September 2022, a notice was left on the door listing violations related to illegal rooming houses, illegal short-term rentals, and the historic district ordinance.

“It’s just not allowed,” Bond said.

In 2023, citations were written for the home’s owner, Ivan De Figueredo Jr., PadSplit LLC, and PadSplit CEO Atticus LeBlanc for operating a rooming house for a zoned single-family property.

Channel 2 Action News verified court records show only De Figueredo’s citation was filed in court. He has a hearing scheduled for later this month.

PadSplit CEO Atticus LeBlanc declined our request for an interview, but in a statement, PadSplit says it has no responsibility for any address errors.

“We do not own, have not renovated, nor are we property managers of the home in question, although it is one of thousands of housing choices available in our market,” the statement said.

But these are the PadSplit residents living in the house, who pay PadSplit rent, applied for a lease through PadSplit, and are expected to follow PadSplit’s rules.

The city tells us in a press release:

“On multiple occasions, the Department of Planning, Office of Buildings (OOB), has attempted to serve citations on Atticus LeBlanc and others associated with land divisions where violations of illegal land use lands occur… Additionally, OOB has enlisted the assistance of the Atlanta Police Department (APD) to serve the citations.

PadSplit CEO Atticus LeBlanc also has another active case in the city of Atlanta for operating an illegal boarding house.

“PadSplit wants to be a good neighbor,” a PadSplit official said in March 2020 to boos from angry DeKalb County residents who flooded the courthouse over multiple code violations at a PadSplit home.

This criminal case is still active.

In South Fulton County in 2022, the city council changed the city code after investors allegedly told law enforcement they were renovating a home into a 4-bedroom, but inside the PadSplit, the Inspectors found 10 rooms.

On his LinkedIn, the CEO of PadSplit calls his detractors NIMBYs, which means not in my backyard.

This does not sit well with residents of this historic black neighborhood.

“The question is: does he have PadSplits in his neighborhood? That’s the question,” Mosby said.

A quick search of PadSplits shows the vast majority are clustered in South Fulton and South DeKalb counties.

In a statement to Channel 2 Action NewsPadSplit said:

“PadSplit understands that most zoning regulations related to occupancy are based on archaic and discriminatory practices dating back over 100 years.”

But Bond said a PadSplit and the property owners it contracts with can’t decide which city laws they want to follow.

“You’re trampling on the history of the community and you’re denigrating the people you’re trying to be a neighbor to. It’s scandalous. And this must stop,” Bond said.

PadSplit’s argument is that legal responsibility for zoning violations lies with the property owners it contracts with, not PadSplit.

The neighbors just want zoning violations enforced on the property.

With all the confusion this has been going on for almost 2 years and no one has gone to court.

A court date is scheduled in 2 weeks for the home owner.

Channel 2 Action News will be there.

We contacted the owner, but he did not respond.

PadSplit’s CEO said he never received a quote regarding the house.

The city said Channel 2 Action News that he will try to serve Atticus LeBlanc again on Friday and will continue to try to find and serve him over the weekend.

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