Unlike the Colorado city, where code violations in rental housing are quickly identified and fixed, Chicago lacks a robust system of inspection and enforcement.

A landlord registration system in Boulder, Colorado could serve as a model for tenant protections in other cities, writes Alex Nitkin in Next City. “The college town began registering landlords in the 1970s in an effort to regulate the quality of homes being rented to students. Five decades later, the system has been credited with preventing unsafe conditions and acting quickly to address problems.”
Nitkin contrasts Boulder with Chicago, where “the buildings department moves more slowly” to identify and cite code violations and poor conditions, putting tenants in danger. “Under the existing system, building inspectors are assigned stacks of complaints every day and told to follow up on as many properties as time permits. Several dozen inspectors were tasked with responding to more than 56,000 building-related complaints to 311 across the city in 2022, according to city records.”
According to Nitkin, while the city defends its complaint-based inspection system, “a 2021 investigation by the Better Government Association — the publisher of the Illinois Answers Project — and the Chicago Tribune found dozens of examples in which Chicagoans died in fires inside buildings that city officials knew were unsafe but never addressed.”
Chicago’s proposed Healthy Homes Ordinance would create a tracking system for rental properties, mandate inspections, and set deadlines for remediation of violations, among other items. “The three-year pilot program would be implemented in three wards — the 20th on the South Side, the 22nd on the Southwest Side and the 49th on the Far North Side — and then potentially expanded throughout the city.”
FULL STORY: Chicago Doesn’t Keep Track Of Landlords. Boulder Offers A Way Forward.

New Florida Law Curbs HOA Power
The legislation seeks to cut down on ‘absurd’ citations for low-level violations.

New Tennessee Law Allows No-Cost Incentives for Affordable Housing
Local governments in the Volunteer State can now offer developers incentives like increased density, lower parking requirements, and priority permitting for affordable housing projects.

Planners’ Complicity in Excessive Traffic Deaths
Professor Wes Marshall’s provocatively-titled new book, "Killed by a Traffic Engineer," has stimulated fierce debates. Are his criticisms justified? Let’s examine the degree that traffic engineers contribute to avoidable traffic deaths.

Study: Housing Crisis is About Affordability, not Supply
New research shows that there is no overall shortage of housing units, but all U.S. metropolitan areas face a severe lack of affordable units for low-income renters.

Are Race-Based Lawsuits Affecting Community Lenders?
Shelterforce spoke with community lending leaders and experts about the current mood across the sector. What, if anything, are organizations doing to avoid becoming the next target of conservative activists?

New Park Promotes Community and Connectivity in Lewisville, Texas
The city of Lewisville just celebrated the opening of Glory Park/Parque la Gloria, helping to improve park access and the quality of life for residents.
City of Madera
City of Santa Clarita
Borough of Carlisle
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Colorado Energy Office
Pima County Community College District
City of Piedmont, CA
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