Recap of 6/11 State and Local Innovation Campaign’s Webinar on Laws Strengthening Code Enforcement Procedures and Habitability Standards
Jun 16, 2025
By Nada Hussein, NLIHC Research Analyst, State and Local Innovation
On Wednesday, June 11, NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation campaign hosted its final “Strengthening Renters’ Rights: A Primer on State and Local Level Tenant Protections” webinar series with a call focused on laws that strengthen code enforcement procedures and expand habitability standards for tenants in the private rental market. The call featured an overview of these protections for renters and highlighted two state and local advocacy campaigns to enact expanded habitability protections for tenants in Colorado and New Orleans, Louisiana.
A recording of the webinar can be found here, and slides are available here.
The call, conducted in collaboration with the Community Economic Defense Project law center, the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, and HousingNOLA, provided information on what types of laws are categorized as “strengthening code enforcement procedures and expanding habitability standards” for renters, where such protections have been passed, and how they are currently being enacted across the country.
NLIHC’s State and Local Research Analyst Nada Hussein provided an overview of the Coalition’s work tracking and advocating for stronger habitability laws for tenants. Nada shared the history of the “Strengthening Renters’ Rights: A Primer on State and Local Level Tenant Protections” webinar series and how it came to be after a fall 2024 discussion of laws that limit excessive rental fees for tenants, commonly known as “junk fees.” Nada reviewed how the series evolved and came to focus on “just cause” eviction protections and rent stabilization protections. Nada shared information on the toolkits released ahead of the webinar series. Each of the toolkits provides an overview of tenant protection policies, the core components of each of the protections, where these protections have been implemented, as well as recommendations from tenant advocates on how these protections can be expanded to cover the greatest number of renters. Another key component of Nada’s presentation focused on tracking state and local level tenant protections through NLIHC’s State and Local Tenant Protections Database. As of 2025, 11 states and 12 localities have expanded protections for tenants with respect to strengthening proactive code enforcement procedures.
Spencer Bailey, Senior Staff Attorney and Appellate Program Supervisor at the Community Economic Project, provided an overview of efforts taken to advance Senate Bill 24-094 in the State of Colorado in 2024. Spencer mentioned that Colorado was one of the last states to enact an “implied warranty of habitability” statute, which guarantees a minimum set of habitability standards that landlords must adhere to in order to ensure that a rental unit is fit for habitation and free from health and safety risks. Under Colorado’s Senate Bill 24-094, a tenant is entitled to several remedies under the law to protect against dilapidated housing, including deductions to rent, terminating a lease, and applying an affirmative defense in court, among others. Spencer shared that under the habitability law in Colorado, a landlord is required to communicate to a tenant an intent to start repairs—or begin to make all necessary repairs—within 24 hours. Spencer concluded by sharing how Colorado’s state law inspired action in Denver to enact stronger and expanded habitability protections for tenants at the local level.
Monique Blossom, Director of Policy and Communications at the Louisiana Fair Housing Action Center, and Andreanecia Morris, Executive Director at HousingNOLA, presented on behalf of the City of New Orleans. Both shared efforts to enact the city’s Healthy Homes ordinance in 2022. The presenters discussed the clear need for updated housing protections for tenants as well as how housing advocates in New Orleans have been advocating for some form of a healthy homes ordinance for more than 10 years. In practice, the New Orleans “Healthy Homes” ordinance (1) requires landlords to register their rental property with the city, (2) requires landlords to submit to proactive health and safety standards and proactive inspection of all rental units, (3) prohibits retaliation against tenants, and (4) creates an anti-displacement fund for tenants impacted by unmaintained housing.
For more information on code enforcement protections for tenants, NLIHC’s State and Local Innovation campaign released a toolkit in 2024 that can be found here.