Goals:
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Improve health and safety of existing housing, especially for low-income residents.
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Put in place a system to proactively prevent problems, rather than always responding to them in crisis mode.
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Remove the primary burden of proof from tenants to report substandard housing, including health and safety issues, when tenants may have concerns over retaliation, regardless of the illegality of retaliation.
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Not impose undue burdens on compliant landlords, but level the playing field so that responsive landlords are not at a disadvantage compared to non-responsive landlords. Focus greatest resources on problem properties and repeat/worst offender landlords.
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Improve the efficiency and efficacy of the current system that now absorbs innumerable hours of staff time from health, building, fire, and police departments without showing improvements commensurate with said hours.
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Improve data collection and record keeping to demonstrate progress, increase ability to share information across departments and municipalities, provide accountability, and expose patterns and gaps.
Endorsed by Greening Greenfield and Housing Greenfield