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  • Comment Detail

  • Date: 07/19/23
    First Name: Christopher
    Last Name: Sutton
    Email: christophersutton.law@gmail.com
    Organization Type: other
    Organization: Law Office of Christopher Sutton

  • Comment

    Tenants in mutli-family housing need greater protections. Many local governments exempt housing units from regular enforcement of habitability standards when the units are owned by a public agency. Yearly habitability inspections by local or state code enforcement staff of all publicly-owned housing units, whether occupied or vacant, must be required nation-wide. In California, for decades the California Department of Transportation has owned thousands of residential units acquired for past and cancelled highway projects, but the local cities and counties refuse to provide any habitability inspections. FHA and other federal agencies must mandate yearly habitability inspections of all public agency owned housing units. Cities and counties that fail to regularly inspect public agency owned housing should be deprived of federal funds.