Examining the strength of state habitability laws across the United States of America

Abstract

Creation and maintenance of habitable housing conditions can be a challenge, particularly when occupants do not have ownership or control of the housing unit or sufficient resources to address deficiencies. A systematic review of the literature was conducted and a descriptive analysis was performed on habitability laws enacted by the 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine variability in the strength of habitability laws and their potential to affect resident health. The systematic review stratified states according to first dates of adoption and last dates of annotations to habitability laws. The descriptive analysis referred to as the Habitability Element Rating Scale, scored and ranked states according to their basic level of consistency with the Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA); weights were applied to reflect each element's potential to influence health and party responsibility. The review and analysis found substantial variation in habitability laws across states and indicate that the Western region of the United States typically have landlord and tenant laws that are more consistent with the URLTA. Results also suggest states that adopted URLTA (in whole or in part) soon after its initial development and dissemination in 1972 may prioritise habitability of housing and health policy.

Keywords:

• housing policy
• housing and health
• habitability
• Landlord laws
• tenant laws
• Uniform Residential Landlord Tenant Act (URLTA)

Acknowledgments

Authors wish to thank Christopher Fettes for his editorial work on this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.