Retaliatory Eviction: Examining the relationship between eviction and housing code violations in Syracuse, NY

Keywords: eviction, housing, public health, lead, Syracuse
Abstract Type: Virtual Paper Abstract

Abstract

Adectodatal reports suggest that retaliatory eviction is a common occurrence among low income renters but few studies have examined the extent or severity of retaliatory eviction. “A retaliatory eviction is an eviction of a tenant by a landlord that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the tenant's exercise of a legal right, such as complaining in good faith about housing or health code violations, withholding rent or tenant organizing.” In this paper, I examine the relationship between formal tenant evictions and tenant-reported housing and health code violations in Syracuse, New York. Specifically I explore the question of retaliatory eviction by comparing the timing of reported housing code violations with formal eviction court filings. Using housing court records from the Syracuse City Landlord Tenant Court for formal evictions that occurred between January 2019 and January 2020 and housing code violations reported to the City of Syracuse Division of Code Enforcement during the same time period, I examine the temporal and spatial relationships between code violations (such as sewer back ups, bed bugs, mold, and lead) and eviction filings. I explore whether housing units that involve an eviction experienced a reported code violation in the time leading up to the eviction. This research will be useful in developing local housing policies, such as Good Cause Eviction legislation, and will add to ongoing conversations at multiple scales about the toll that eviction and housing instability take on renters. It will also further conversations surrounding power imbalances between landlords and tenants.