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Housing code enforcement requires financial and business acumen, since:
Other Challenges:
Housing code enforcement
is complex . Housing code enforcement agencies have the power
to condemn and otherwise close buildings. As a result, code enforcement
can lead to gentrification,
displacement of tenants , and permanent loss of affordable housing instead
of community revitalization. Communities and tenants are often rightfully
cautious about bringing inspectors into the community when there is no guarantee
that the enforcement personnel will resolve the code violations in a manner
beneficial to the community.
Housing code enforcement makes properties more attractive to private developers . A danger of many tools that successfully revitalize communities is that revitalized communities may attract the kinds of investments that then displace lower-income residents. Local government can neglect tenants and community when it discovers that it can seize the property from the irresponsible owners and reassign as it sees fit. Some jurisdictions may choose for-profit developers creating market-rate condos, rather than working with community organizations to preserve affordable housing. In tight markets, tenant-owners will be pressured to sell their buildings or individual units at an attractive profit. While this may serve the short-term interest of the tenant-owners, it does not serve the long-term needs of preserving affordable housing for others in the community.
Every use of the housing code enforcement tool is unique . The housing code enforcement tool involves sensitive negotiations. The identity of the players and their reactions will vary in every situation. As a result, no one road map can guide a community through the various dangers that lurk on the path to successful use of housing code enforcement.
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