Pathways to Social Housing in New York: Part D
Code Enforcement & Tools for Safe Conditions
Like expanded tenant protections, strong code enforcement can lay the groundwork for social housing by making housing less attractive to investors seeking lucrative short-term returns. These investment strategies are often predicated on tenants living in decrepit conditions. Laws that force landlords to reinvest rental income in their portfolios can both address long-neglected physical conditions, and reduce speculative real estate activity, opening up the possibility of social housing conversions. Read more.
Substandard housing conditions are all too commonplace in New York State, especially for low-income renters, who are predominantly people of color. Despite the statewide standard of Warranty of Habitability, tools for tenants and public agencies to address substandard conditions typically exist in only the most extreme scenarios. In New York City, the more detailed Housing Maintenance Code is systematically under-enforced. Changing this system requires a shift in the way public agencies and court systems regard landlords of substandard housing who are too often given the benefit of the doubt, allowing dangerous conditions to linger.
To address this, first, New York State needs a robust uniform maintenance code, providing a baseline right to safe housing across the state and obviating the need for tenants, landlords, and local officials to determine rights and responsibilities on a case by case basis. Stronger codes help tenants organize against visibly poor conditions — like the presence of vermin, mold, and leaks — and against more hidden concerns — like exposure to lead and allergens, unreliable heat and hot water, and more. Additionally, universal standards create a broad constituency of tenants who can continue to organize for the resources needed for proper enforcement.
Next, housing agencies and courts must actively enforce maintenance codes, instituting severe minimum penalties for lack of compliance. Proactive and well-funded enforcement programs compel landlords to spend money on ongoing maintenance and repairs, and address capital needs, such as replacing a boiler or a roof, or updating the electrical wiring. Too often, existing programs address only surface-level concerns, and tenants have little recourse when poor building conditions inevitably resurface, a product of lax or even nonexistent enforcement.
Finally, tenants must be given the tools with which to demand safe housing conditions, including ways to take action and demand proper oversight by experts, if code enforcement regimes fall short.
- Introduction
- Democratic Control of Housing
- Financial Resources for Housing Justice
- Tenants’ Rights and Protections
- Code Enforcement & Tools for Safe Conditions
- Conclusion