Regulating Landlords: Unintended Consequences for Poor Tenants

Abstract

This paper explores "hidden" ways by which cities may inadvertently undermine access to decent, stable, affordable housing-especially for vulnerable renter households-through regulations that sanction landlords for tenant activities on their property. In-depth semistructured interviews and ethnographic observations with 57 small-and medium-sized landlords in Cleveland, followed over 28 months, show that perceptions of risk, flowing specifically from "nuisance" and water regulations that rendered landlords accountable for tenant activities over which they perceived little control, were common. To manage perceived precarity, landlords reported measures that undermined tenants' housing security-including excessive screening, hassling, elevated rent amounts, proclivity to evict, and divestment from the lower end of the housing market whose stock continues to dwindle across many cities. City regulations-meant to bolster housing security, community vitality, and infrastructure-appear to be understudied factors that paradoxically reinforce problems of housing insecurity and community decline many vulnerable tenants, and cities, continue to face.

Risk, Property Rights, and Antidiscrimination Law in Rental Housing: Toward a Property-in-Action Framework

“…With a limited supply of public and nonprofit housing, policy solutions seeking a broad impact must inevitably target private landlords, who serve as gatekeepers for the overwhelming majority of US renters. This focus aligns with research indicating that private landlords' decisions to set rent and screening criteria, accept or reject housing vouchers, and evict and select tenants significantly shape renters' housing experiences (Rosen 2014;Desmond 2016;Greif 2018;A. Travis 2019).…”

“…Adam Travis (2019) found that legal changes that decreased owners' financial risk prompted some rental owners to let their properties fall into disrepair, a cost borne by tenants, particularly those in poor neighborhoods. Meredith Greif (2018) likewise observed that landlords' business practices are sensitive to the legal environment. Rental owners in Cleveland feared water and nuisance regulations would increase their financial risk and responded with a host of tactics designed to offset that concern, including strict screening practices, higher rents, and informal surveillance and threats.…”

“…Research shows that landlords draw on a mix of professional and on-the-job knowledge of neighborhoods, tenants, law, and government programs when making decisions about their properties (Rosen 2014;Desmond 2016;Greif 2018;A. Travis 2019).…”

“…Even when the legal environment shifts in ways that, on the surface, restrict their control, owners retain other means of acting, enabling them to circumvent regulation, such as the Fair Chance Housing Ordinance, without breaking the law. Research has shown that landlords utilize these rights, including those detailed by Seattle landlords, in response to regulations of the rental market (Listokin and Hattis 2005;Greif 2018;Bartram 2019). Importantly, these loopholes are not found in regulation itself but reside within the flexible and malleable powers of property ownership.…”

Working With Them: Small-Scale Landlord Strategies for Avoiding Evictions

“…The consequences of eviction are significant for individuals, families, neighborhoods, and communities (Babajide, Blum, Maniates, & Scher, 2016;Clark, 2017). Evictions most clearly impact the residential displacement of renters, as facing an eviction can increase renters' likelihood of experiencing homelessness, limit access to affordable housing options, and restrict eligibility for housing assistance (Babajide et al, 2016;Crane & Warnes, 2000;Desmond, 2016;Greif, 2018;Lindblom, 1991;Rosenblatt & DeLuca, 2012). But the impact of evictions extends far beyond residential displacement, as evictions often have a domino effect on the lives of renters.…”