Norwich ― The city’s condemnation of an illegal boarding house at 39-41 Cliff St. was short-lived, as the owner made repairs late Monday and early Tuesday and returned the house to a four-unit apartment building.

Norwich Building Official Dan Coley said Tuesday the tenants moved out temporarily Monday night as repairs were made and most returned on Tuesday, agreeing to share apartments as roommates, rather than renting individual bedrooms. Norwich does not allow boarding houses, in which rooms with locked doors are rented to separate parties.

Norwich inspectors posted notices of violation last week and had planned to condemn the house Tuesday. As an alternative, city officials offered owner Cliff Street Construction LLC of Darien, run by Jaspal Juj, an option to provide temporary housing for the tenants, correct the violations and rent the house as a four-family apartment house.

City inspectors estimated 14 people were living in the house in separate bedrooms with keypad locks affixed to the doors.

“They made some significant improvements, and we’re allowing them to put people back in,” Coley said Tuesday afternoon. “All but a few moved back in. A few went elsewhere.”

With the condemnation resolved, city officials still plan to contact various nonprofit housing agencies for a meeting to discuss practices of placing people in housing that might not meet city building, safety or zoning regulations. Norwich city officials said some tenants were placed in the Cliff Street home by outside agencies.

c.bessette@theday.com