Code Enforcement and Rental Housing Quality: New Research and Policy Approaches

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Even prior to the pandemic, Philadelphians with low incomes had limited choices about where to live. The pandemic – which dictated more time spent at home – brought into crisper focus how housing affects people’s health and well-being.

With this in mind, Pew’s Philadelphia research and policy initiative researched how Philadelphia and other major cities use code enforcement to monitor and improve rental housing quality. In our recently released report – Rental Code Enforcement in Philadelphia: How it works and what other cities are doing – we dig into the details: what rules Philadelphia landlords need to follow; how the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) enforces those rules; the data about units inspected and violations found; what challenges exist in the current system; and how other cities tackle this work.

Octavia Howell, author of the report, will present the new research, and Sophie Bryan will briefly describe how Pew is using a health impact assessment process to help translate these research findings into policy solutions.

RECORDING FOR THIS EVENT IS HERE.