Mayor Ben Walsh announced 11 initiatives on Wednesday to improve housing stability, reduce evictions and connect Syracuse residents with resources.

Walsh detailed the initiatives at a press conference at the Central New York Philanthropy Center in downtown Syracuse. The wide-ranging initiatives aim to both crackdown on landlords who have unregistered properties and code violations and  educate residents about safe housing.

The city’s Innovation Team, which works to create solutions to municipal issues, found that 25 percent of families in Syracuse move homes annually, a press release said.  The i-Team functions independently from city hall.

“Within the context of living in poverty, it becomes that much more disruptive,” Walsh said. “For adults, it can affect their ability to obtain food, transportation and health care.  For children, school moves. We see children have higher absentee rates and low test scores.”

Walsh simplified the initiatives into three goals:

Improving housing quality

The Syracuse Common Council created a Bureau of Administrative Adjudication to enforce compliance with property codes. Walsh said the city may issue tickets and levy fines against property owners who have property code violations.  The BAA will launch in April, he said.

Walsh said the Property Improvement Project Recognition program will create an incentive for property owners to take on renovations and upgrades by rewarding owners who invest in their rented homes. Code inspectors will be able to nominate landlords, who may receive recognition from the mayor and are featured on the city’s social media accounts, he said.

The city is also studying the effects of a Rent Escrow Account Program, Walsh said. Under the program, if a landlord violates property codes beyond the compliance date, the tenant will have the option to pay their rent into a city escrow account until the violation is corrected, according to a press release provided at the event. Property owners may withdraw from this account to make repairs, and they can receive the rent balance from the account after the violations are addressed.

Only 30 percent of rental properties are registered with the city, and these properties might not be up to code, according to the press release. The city is reaching out to rental property owners to register them.

During a pilot phase, 67 percent of properties contacted were inspected, of which 67.5 percent passed their inspections on their first try.

Reduce evictions

Walsh also said the city’s department of neighborhood and business development has worked with the Syracuse Housing Authority and Clinton Plaza Apartments on a pilot program to contact tenants before they fall behind on rent. The department also coordinated with landlords to avoid eviction, he said.

The city found that within the program, eviction petitions dropped by 75 percent. Clinton Plaza Apartments saved more than $100,000 in eviction and turnover costs.

The city, in collaboration with Vite Labs, is also creating a campaign for community members to crowdfund for emergency housing expenses. Residents in need of emergency funds may access the platform.

Syracuse developers are also looking into ways to require landlords to have valid rental registrations before filing for an eviction, he said.

Connect residents with resources

Syracuse is working with students in Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies to develop an online property grading system for renters to make informed decisions about moving and renting.  The grade would be based on code violation history.

The Division of Code Enforcement and the Greater Syracuse Land Bank are hosting Healthy Housing 101 events, per the press release. Inspectors led tours in houses to point out common safety and health issues. The goal is to educate tenants, landlords and service providers on housing quality.

Housing packets were sent home with almost 11,000 Syracuse City School District elementary school students. The packets included information on safe housing, smoke detectors and Code Enforcement resources.

The city is also supporting the development of a tenants’ union to help educate tenants of their rights, connect them to legal representation and file claims for security deposits.

Published on March 27, 2019 at 11:09 pm

Contact Richard: rjchang@syr.edu | @RichardJChang1