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Safety standards measure for New Orleans rentals passes, but advocates call it 'gutted'

Tenants and allies rally hold a silent protest at City Council chambers on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.
Halle Parker
/
WWNO
Tenants and allies rally hold a silent protest at City Council chambers on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022.

After a series of contentious public meetings, the New Orleans City Council passed the “Healthy Homes” ordinance, a landmark measure that sets basic living standards for rental housing citywide.

But the ordinance they passed on Thursday removes a critical mechanism to enforce those standards: proactive health and safety inspections.

In its original form, the ordinance would have required most landlords to be subject to inspections every three years, checking that their rentals met a list of habitability requirements like having a working smoke detector, adequate temperature controls, and ensuring there are no signs of mold or rodent infestations.

Proponents of the ordinance had feared the council would carve out an exception for landlords who own numerous smaller buildings across the city, leaving only the owners of large apartment complexes subject to regular inspections. But the amendment that passed was a more dramatic change than supporters had anticipated. Rather than carve out an exception for some landlords for regular inspections, the amendment does away with the regular inspection piece entirely.

“This very effective and very essential piece of legislation has been effectively gutted,” said Andreanecia Morris, president of the Greater New Orleans Housing Alliance, in a public comment.

The ordinance that passed still requires that all landlords register their rentals with the city and self-attest that they meet the list of basic standards. The new version gets rid of a fee landlords would have needed to pay to register. And landlords won’t be able to register if they have delinquent property taxes or certain open code violations.

Owners of short-term rentals, who were originally exempt, will need to register now, too.

It also keeps in place an anti-retaliation measure: any renter will now be able to submit a complaint about substandard conditions to the city and be protected from backlash by their landlord, like threats of eviction or rent raises.

Renters – or lawyers representing them – will still be able to request an inspection. But housing advocates said a complaint-based system will simply put the onus on vulnerable tenants to hold landlords accountable.

“This places the entire burden on tenants to enforce the law by calling in complaints,” said Hannah Adams, an attorney with Southeast Louisiana Legal Services, in a public comment.

Council Vice President JP Morrell, who introduced the ordinance in September, defended the amendment as a step in the right direction. He acknowledged that almost no one in the room at the heated meeting was happy with its final form, which included dozens of disappointed renters and advocates, as well as a few landlords, who argued that registering their rentals with the city at all would be a burdensome hurdle.

“This ordinance – as drafted – is about moving the ball forward,” Morrell said.

Landlords who are found to be in violation of the housing standards and fail to fix problems quickly could risk being fined, and in extreme situations, could lose their registration with the city and have their power connection shut off.

To protect renters who may be put out if their landlord is found in violation, the council also passed a measure Thursday to create a new “Renter Anti-Displacement Fund” that would provide eligible renters with assistance to secure new housing.

The council passed another motion Thursday that directs the Office of Code Enforcement and the Department of Safety and Permits to work toward creating new, full-time positions dedicated to inspecting “Healthy Homes” issues, when they come up.

The “Healthy Homes” ordinance will technically take effect on July 1, 2023. Landlords will have 45 days from that date to register rentals with the city.

A year after the ordinance takes effect, the council will hold a public hearing to review its impact.

Carly Berlin is the New Orleans Reporter for WWNO and WRKF. She focuses on housing, transportation, and city government. Previously, she was the Gulf Coast Correspondent for Southerly, where her work focused on disaster recovery across south Louisiana during two record-breaking hurricane seasons. Much of that reporting centered on the aftermath of Hurricanes Laura and Delta in Lake Charles, and was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.

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