The city of Boulder shut down an off-campus student apartment building Monday due to “safety concerns” and illegal construction, giving 60 student renters only hours to pack up their belongings and leave.

At 1:41 p.m. Monday, city officials told the owners of the Ash House — previously known as the Marpa House — at 891 12th St. in Boulder that tenants would have until 6 p.m. to vacate the premises, the building’s owners said in a statement.

“Four minutes later, the city began informing tenants that they needed to leave, without any explanation as to where they should go or when they could come back,” the owners stated.

The Ash House was approved last year to house 48 students in 16 three-bedroom units for the 2023-2024 school year, according to Boulder officials.

During an inspection last week, city officials with the Code Compliance Division discovered a “serious violation” and “illegal division of living space,” according to a news release the city.

Specifically, 15 new bedrooms were constructed without building permits, land-use approval or life-safety inspections, city officials said. The owners also did not have permits for the electrical work that was conducted when the new bedrooms were added, the city said.

According to Boulder officials, 13 of the 15 illegally constructed rooms were occupied.

Officials said all 60 students living in the Ash House will be displaced until the violations are remedied, but the 13 students living in illegally constructed bedrooms will need to find new permanent housing.

“This is an incredibly unfortunate situation, and we truly regret the inconvenience and disruption for renters,” Boulder spokesperson Brad Mueller said. “However, safety is always first, and the conditions discovered represent an immediate risk.”

During last week’s inspection, city officials only counted bedrooms and “provided no additional feedback, comment or question,” the property owners said in a statement, adding that they were “surprised and dismayed (to) have been deprived the courtesy of a hearing and/or the due process afforded under City Code.”