City permit issue. Should I hire a lawyer?

[Ashly B.]

This is going to be long and I wasn't even sure what to search for to see if something similar has been asked but here goes. 

Rental permit was up for re-inspection in March. At the time my 4 plex had 1 renovated unit, 2 I planned to renovate over the summer and 1 that was in decent shape and would be renovated at a later time. They came back with some 40 violations, most of which pertained to the lower 2 units that were about to be gutted - unlevel floors, bad windows, peeling paint, drop ceilings were coming down, toilet always running, etc. Date for everything to be up to code was June. 

When the inspector came back in June all of the violations pertaining to the upper rented units and exterior had been addressed but the lower 2 were just getting started with renovations and were pretty much down to the studs so the issues with those units couldn't be addressed at that time. We were able to get a renovation extension and were given until August to finish up. 

Renovations took longer than expected. Its been my husband and I doing nearly 100% of the work ourselves while working full time jobs. We were there every day after work and every weekend but it wasn't enough time and I couldn't afford to contract the work. The work we did contract always took longer than the contractor said - we got hung up for SIX WEEKS over some plumbing issues which were entirely the fault of the contractor, among other things. Had to go in front of the housing appeals boards and plead my case about why they shouldn't fine me the $5,000 max for my violations. I explained everything above and they gave us until December 7. 

Panic hits a little before thanksgiving when I realize we're SO close but the counters I had ordered Nov. 9 aren't likely going to be in before the inspector comes Dec. 7. I'm summarizing a little here, there were several conversations with the city during this time, threats made by them that they would be sending me to legal for the tenants i have if everything wasn't completed on time because my permit was expired and there were no more extensions. 

Dec. 7 comes and as predicted counters aren't in. Home Depot blamed the holidays and said there's nothing they can do. Decide to do the inspection anyway because if I can at least get all the other violations checked off that looks better and I'm not sure not having counters is a violation anyway. Inspector comes, everything looks great. He says we're good to go except there is an open plumbing permit that needs closed out - says the plumbing inspector probably just forgot to do the paperwork. Call the plumbing inspector and he says he just did a rough walk and still needs to do a final walk through (of course no one told me this - not the company we contracted nor the inspector when he did his first inspection). Says when he was there the in the wall plumbing was done but since walls weren't up there were not fixtures or anything and he needs to see all of that completed. Oh and by the way it has to be done by a licensed plumber and a NEW permit has to be pulled for the "work" being done... which is literally bathroom fixtures and kitchen sinks. Thought this was no big deal, I used a licensed plumber - turns out he's not a journeyman so he can't pull permits. So now I not only have to find a plumber who will pull a permit for work he didn't do, also the counters still aren't in, the sinks can't be plumbed and the inspector won't re-inspect, and since he won't close it out I officially have an illegal tenant. 

Reread the fine print from the city. It says I have 10 days from final re-inspection to either fix the violations or vacate the tenants in order to avoid being referred to legal for illegal occupancy and to potentially have the board rescind or reduce my initial $5k fine. Nevermind that I find it COMPLETELY ridiculous that I would have to evict someone over countertops that are not even in their unit and do not impact their quality of life or living standards, since I still can't get an install date from the counter people, I tell my one tenant she's got to go. Told her if she doesn't want to find a new place permanently that she can just take her essentials and leave the furniture and stuff. She has 5 days and then I need her keys. 

So following Monday inspector calls to check in. Explain the weekend events, plumbing situation and tenant situation. He says he needs to come by and see she has moved out. So today we meet at the apartment. Probably my own fault for not checking what the tenant left behind but it literally looks just as it did last time I was there - there are bananas and bread on the counter, fridge full of food, clothes on the floor, dishes in the sink... I don't blame the inspector for giving me the side eye and saying ya this looks occupied. I mention that I had told him she was moving out temporarily and was leaving her things and he said that was fine so what did I need to do to make it more officially unoccupied. He said move out the bed and the food and if you can show me that's done we'll mark it as vacant. So I spend 2 hours doing that immediately after he leaves (she had A LOT of food). He calls this afternoon and says unfortunately we're going to have to refer it to legal after all. 

FML

I'm at a loss. I have the other 3 units with tenants lined up, I'm paying my ex a weekly fee to put the current tenant up in a spare bedroom because I couldn't throw her on the streets over the holidays, counters are finally going in Wednesday morning and now all of this is going to get hung up in a legal battle. I'm going to lose the tenants I have lined up for the end of the month and all this is over a 2 week delay with counters. I've put everything I've got into this place. It was my first major renovation - it took way longer than expected, its way over budget and I just need to get it rented because come tax time I'm not even going to be able to pay the property taxes on it if it doesn't start cash flowing soon. I don't know if I have a case if I hire a lawyer but it seems so extreme to me to put someone out of their home (over Christmas no less) over a construction delay that was not in my or her control and not harming anyone, and now its in their power to draw this out as long as they want. I guess my question is what's going to be the fastest way to get people back in this place and what should my next steps be?