Richard T. LeGates

Municipal Housing Code Enforcement and Low-Income Tenants

Abstract Municipal housing code enforcement often leads to rent increases, tenant moves to lower cost housing, evictions, and reduction in the low-rent housing stock, and thus may harm low-income tenants more than it helps them. A tenant-oriented approach to code enforcement would acknowledge these defects and not permit “market realities” (that is, the owners economic capabilities and motivations) to dictate enforcement practices and policies. Subsidies and controls that help low-income families afford decent housing must complement the states legal requirement that all housing units meet code standards. A proposal is put forth for rehabilitation and rent subsidies, controls on rents, and changes in ownership and control of rental property to be used in coordination with housing code enforcement. The importance of full participation of tenants and tenant organizations is stressed in all phases of this new approach to code enforcement.

The Perils of Special Revenue Sharing for Community Development

Abstract The intended goals of the Better Communities Act are commendable-just distribution of funds on the basis of need; a reduction of federal overregulation; strengthening of local democratic decisionmaking; and increased flexibility to permit appropriate programs at the local level. However, the proposed legislation will have far-reaching consequences that will more than negate the good it is intended to bring. Many, especially those in the cities where problems are most pronounced, will find themselves facing less funding, increased roles for state and county governments, and fewer incentives for local political systems to take on poverty, discrimination, and inequities in access to decent housing, education, and other urban services. To mitigate these, three corrections, in particular, must be made: (1) to increase the level of overall expenditures for community development; (2) to change the distribution formula to reflect need in terms of poverty and housing conditions; and (3) to set forth clear...