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Housing code enforcement compels landlords to improve building conditions. Code enforcement ensures that multi-family dwellings are owned and managed by responsible individuals, private corporations, or public agencies. When housing code violations are found and not corrected, the government can impose significant penalties upon landlords. While housing code enforcement can remedy substandard living conditions, it can have the negative consequence of displacing low-income tenants when the improvements result in significant rent increases. However, if tenants and their community partners participate in the code enforcement process, they can leverage significant benefits.
This tool provides a means for tenants to use housing code enforcement as a mechanism to transfer ownership of multi-family dwellings from negligent owners to the tenants or community organizations who will further neighborhood revitalization. It also guides tenant and community participation in code enforcement to prevent resident displacement and ensure that buildings in gentrifying neighborhoods remain affordable.
Code enforcement used in these ways can increase the stock of properties available to the revitalization process. Neighborhood revitalization requires cooperation from existing property owners to improve conditions while maintaining the local character and retaining current tenants. In every community, there will likely be some multi-family property owners (often termed "slumlords") who refuse to participate, preferring to hold properties in substandard and unsafe conditions. The housing code enforcement tool is a mechanism to bring them into the revitalization process either by forcing them to repair and properly maintain their buildings or relinquish ownership.
Code enforcement can slow gentrification and displacement. When a community faces gentrification pressures, this tool can help put a check on those forces by moving ownership of buildings targeted by gentrifying forces into the hands of the community.
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