New Haven Landlord Seeks Accelerated Rehab for Code Violations

A New Haven landlord with a history of housing code violations asked a state court Tuesday to let him sidestep a criminal record, applying for a diversionary program that could wipe his misdemeanor charge clean if he stays out of trouble for up to two years.

Jianchao Xu, who owns 20 properties with 105 rental units across New Haven, filed for Accelerated Rehabilitation in housing court alongside his attorney, Frank Cirillo, Jr. It was his first appearance as a criminal defendant. The program is designed for first-time offenders facing minor charges, and if state Superior Court Judge Alayna Stone approves the application, Xu could emerge without a permanent criminal record.

Xu faces a Class B misdemeanor for violating the state building code at 56-58 Avon St., a six-unit house that has caught fire three times. The first fire hit in November 2023, displacing 26 tenants. Then it burned again on Feb. 28, 2026, displacing 17 more. Then, just over two weeks after that, it burned a third time on March 16.

That’s not a streak of bad luck.

City Building Official Bob Dillon told the New Haven Independent that one of the code violations behind the criminal charge was that Southern Connecticut Gas Company had shut off the gas at the building after the February fire, but someone had turned it back on before the March 16 blaze. Dillon didn’t say who restored the gas, but the detail sits at the center of the case against Xu.

The Class B misdemeanor Xu faces carries a penalty of up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Under Connecticut’s Accelerated Rehabilitation program, Judge Stone would set a probationary period of up to two years, potentially with additional conditions. If Xu completes that period without new criminal charges and in compliance with Stone’s terms, the misdemeanor gets dismissed. Stone plans to review the application by mid-June.

Xu appeared before Stone in a third-floor courtroom at 121 Elm St. Stone read him his rights and asked whether he had ever been convicted of a crime or misdemeanor. “No,” Xu said.

A Pattern the City Is Done Ignoring

The Avon Street charge is the sharpest legal edge of a much larger problem. According to the Elicker administration, 18 fires have broken out at Xu’s various New Haven buildings over the past decade. The city has been tightening its grip on his portfolio for weeks.

One week before Tuesday’s hearing, New Haven revoked all of Xu’s local rental licenses after inspectors found more than 50 code violations across his properties. He now has 30 days from the revocation date to fix every violation, reapply for rental licenses at each building, and pass re-inspections. Fail to do that, and he’s looking at penalties of up to $2,000 per day, per property. With 20 properties in play, those fines can compound fast. Xu lives in Bethany, one town west of New Haven, and it’s not clear how closely he has been managing conditions at his New Haven portfolio.

Prosecutor Donna Parker, asked after Tuesday’s hearing whether she plans to contest the Accelerated Rehabilitation application, didn’t commit. “I don’t know at this point,” she said.

That ambiguity matters. If Parker objects, Stone will have to weigh whether Xu qualifies for the program despite the circumstances surrounding the charge. The Connecticut Judicial Branch’s guidelines give judges discretion in these decisions, and the gas restoration detail could complicate a straightforward first-offender argument.

What Comes Next

For New Haven tenants and housing advocates, the court case is only one piece of the picture. Xu’s 105 rental units house dozens of households, and the license revocations mean those tenants are in buildings whose landlord currently can’t legally rent to them. The city hasn’t announced any formal relocation plan for current occupants, which raises questions about enforcement priorities as the 30-day correction window ticks down.

Mid-June is the next milestone. That’s when Judge Stone will decide whether Xu’s application moves forward, and whether the prosecutor’s office will push back. If Stone approves the program and Xu meets its conditions over the following two years, this chapter closes quietly. If Parker contests the application or Xu runs into further code violations or criminal trouble, the case gets significantly more complicated for a landlord already under the city’s microscope.