Code Enforcement and Housing Quality Revisited

Abstract

Given the current emphasis on urban conservation efforts, accompanied by significant reductions in urban redevelopment spending, housing programs that successfully preserve existing housing stock are of critical importance to urban policymakers and planners. Previous studies of code enforcement impact on housing quality have examined cyclical enforcement programs in urban slums with findings of uniformly negative effects. The current housing literature suggests that code effectiveness is neighborhood linked. The present research studies the effects of differential code enforcement on housing quality in a sample of upper-middle-class, middle-class, and lower-middle-class neighborhoods, where code enforcement occurred at the point of population turnover. Findings demonstrate that code enforcement induced no quality change in the upper-middle-class areas but induced significant housing improvements in middle-class and lower-middle-class areas.