Residential housing codes exist in most jurisdictions and are intended to ensure that residents are safe in their dwellings. This laudable goal is crucial in the context of multi-family rental dwellings, where tenants have limited ability to correct health and safety problems.

In this tool, the term "housing code" is used as shorthand for a number of regulations. These requirements may not appear in the same regulatory codes and may be enforced by different agencies. They include:

Building codes (electrical, plumbing, structural, etc.),
Health codes (vermin, roaches, general cleanliness, etc.)
Fire codes (exits, extinguishers, alarms, etc.) and
Regulations pertaining to other safety issues, such as lead paint, asbestos, and ground contamination.

Enforcement of these codes begins with inspections by various agencies, such as the building inspectors' office, the health department, and the fire department. Inspections are made by different levels of government, including state, county, and city. Some jurisdictions engage in regular inspections of multi-family residential dwellings. In New Jersey, all multi-family dwellings are registered and put on 3-5 year inspection cycles. More commonly, jurisdictions conduct inspections when they receive complaints. Inspections may be comprehensive or limited to one agency and the codes for which it is responsible.

Response to Violations

When housing code violations are discovered that do not pose serious and imminent dangers, a notice is sent to the landlord, recording the violation and establishing a fixed period of time for correction. Typically, if not repaired within the timeframe, a fine is levied. Where the fine is not paid or the violation not remedied, further enforcement action can be taken. Actions vary by jurisdiction, but can be generally divided into three categories:

monetary fines/penalties that can be converted to liens on the property;
criminal prosecution; and
governmental repair of the conditions causing the violations.

These enforcement categories are not mutually exclusive and can be pursued simultaneously. Where severe violations or imminent threats to the health and safety of residents or others exist, the inspectors and their agencies can close buildings. Different agencies have varying notice requirements, dependent on the severity of the violation, which must be met before closing the building.

improved conditions through either voluntary landlord compliance or government repair; or
of fines, criminal prosecution, and negotiated resolution of community benefits.

Residents Matter

Regardless of its motivations, if a government is truly interested in prosecuting landlords, the tenants are an important evidentiary resource. While housing inspectors can give an impersonal snapshot of building conditions, the tenants can give a personal history of the conditions that could make a substantial difference at the trial of a landlord.

Local authorities will resist tenant/community participation where housing code enforcement is being used to gentrify neighborhoods. Governments potentially assist in neighborhood gentrification by using code violations as a basis for closing buildings, thus displacing tenants. Vacant buildings producing no income are attractive to developers. Where housing code enforcement is driving gentrification, engaging the cooperation of the government may be much more difficult.

Other mechanisms to reform code enforcement require mobilizing political pressure on elected officials who can redirect staff responsible for code enforcement. This requires engaging the media to call public attention to the local government's active complicity in encouraging and assisting in resident displacement and neighborhood gentrification. Strategic public relations can garner support for low-income tenants working to ensure a decent and affordable place to live.

Other Strategies

These sorts of legal actions may not create the same level of pressure on landlords as the threat of governmental criminal prosecution, but they can result in significant consideration by the landlord.

Where housing code violations exist, most jurisdictions permit affirmative legal claims alleging breach of contract, implied warranty of habitability, and other tort claims.

Similarly, many jurisdictions permit tenant associations to file rent petitions for rent rollbacks and rent abatements where the tenants live with outstanding housing code violations.
In many jurisdictions, needed housing repairs can be made at the tenants' expense and the cost of the repairs deducted from the tenants' rent.
A more risky mechanism to increase pressure against the landlord is a rent strike, which should only be attempted in those jurisdictions where it deprives the landlord of the rental income but does not serve as a basis for the landlord to evict the tenants.