Update: May 16,2023
Delaware State lawmakers are considering legislation that would prohibit municipalities from enacting laws requiring landlords to evict tenants for criminal activity by the tenant, a member of their household or a guest.
For more information, please click on the following link;
Proposal to bar municipalities from requiring eviction for “criminal activity” advances in Senate
A very real challenge for municipalities!
How to protect citizens in dire need of protection (specifically victims of domestic abuse) while creating effective legislation that protects and improve the neighborhood at large.
This has been a point of discussion for several years. A recent article (click here) in the St. Louis Dispatch discusses letters sent by housing and civil rights advocates to six cities across St. Louis County saying their “nuisance ordinances violate residents’ constitutional rights”.
Would perhaps behoove municipalities to proactively take a fresh look at existing ordinances.
This is an issue being discussed across the country.
Please click on the following links for additional information:
- Psychology Today 10/12/18 How Nuisance Laws Perpetuate the Cycle of Domestic Violence
- New York Times 11/9/17 When Calling 911 Makes You a ‘Nuisance’ and Gets You Evicted
- Lakewood OH 7/3/2018 Lakewood City Council changes nuisance law to better protect domestic violence victims
- Minneapolis, MN 11/3/18 Minneapolis City Council overhauls ordinance that city officials say ‘criminalizes’ tenants
- California 9/20/18 Calling for help shouldn’t leave tenants at risk for eviction
- Spokane Valley WA 1/8/18 Spokane Valley takes aim at ‘nuisance properties’
- Mount Oliver PA (10/23/18) – excludes domestic abuse calls – https://www.sopghreporter.com/story/2018/10/23/front-page/mt-o-boro-council-passes-disruptive-property-ordinance/19284.html