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Nuisance and Crime-Free Ordinances Initiative

Exposing the harms caused  by local “crime-free” programs and nuisance property ordinances that target and threaten communities of color, justice-involved individuals, survivors of violence, and persons with disabilities with eviction and displacement from their community. 

Local nuisance property ordinances or “crime-free” programs typically single out properties where alleged “nuisance” activity—such as calls for emergency services, arrests, or noise disturbances—occur. Such ordinances and programs aim to hold a tenant and the property owner responsible for this conduct through fines, evictions, or other penalties. In many jurisdictions, a threshold number of police or emergency calls regarding the property – often as little as three calls in six months – trigger the property being deemed a nuisance and the landlord is then directed to evict all of the tenants.

Such ordinances and programs are often borne out of an actual or perceived change in racial demographics of a community. This perceived or real change in the racial demographics of a community are quickly followed by unsupported claims that there is a rise in crime, which in turn generates support for the passage of the crime free program and/or nuisance property ordinance. These ordinances and programs control and heavily regulate racial minorities, particularly Black renter households, and reinforce racial boundaries in a community. White neighbors, aware of the blunt effect of nuisance property ordinances and “crime-free” programs, repeatedly call the police on their Black neighbors. In most cases, the police calls used to trigger enforcement do not result in an arrest or conviction of someone in the home but nonetheless result in the eviction of the entire household. Tenants targeted by these ordinances and programs have little to no ability to challenge the enforcement.

Because of the aggressive use of police or emergency calls as a basis for enforcement, survivors of gender-based violence and persons with disabilities, who are more likely to need to call the police or have someone call on their behalf, are at high risk of being evicted and harmed. These ordinances and programs also dangerously shift how police approach survivors and persons with disabilities from a place of providing help and assistance to one of identifying the call or conduct as a “nuisance” triggering eviction.

The following laws may offer protections against nuisance property ordinances and “crime-free” programs:

  • The Fair Housing Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, and similar state laws that prohibit discrimination against certain enumerated protected classes, including but not limited to race, national origin, sex, and disability;
  • Section 603 of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) (2022) which protects landlords, tenants, and others from harm, including threatened evictions or other penalties, as a result of calling for police or emergency assistance, including someone calling on their behalf. These groups are also protected from harm based on criminal activity of which they are a victim or otherwise not at fault under statutes, ordinances, regulations, or policies, including nuisance property ordinances and/or local “crime-free” programs adopted or enforced by state or local governments receiving Community Development Block Grant funding;
  • The U.S. Constitution (and related state constitutional rights), including First Amendment right to petition the government, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause; and
  • State and local laws that protect individuals’ rights to call police or emergency assistance or limit the effect of “crime-free” programs or nuisance property ordinances.

Advocates have challenged these ordinances in state and federal court and have filed HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity complaints. The DOJ and HUD have also investigated and brought litigation against localities with local “crime free” programs and nuisance property ordinances. Additionally, advocates have successfully passed laws that to limit or out right prohibit local crime free programs or nuisance property ordinances, such as California in 2018 and 2023, Illinois (provisions 65 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. § 5/1-2-1.5, 55 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. § 5/5-1005.10), Minnesota, Iowa (provisions Iowa Code Ann. §§ 562A.27B, 562B.25B, 331.304(11), and 364.3(11)), Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

For additional information please check out this FAQ on Crime-Free Programs and Nuisance Property Ordinances and Their Impacts.

NHLP is available for training and technical assistance related to nuisance and crime-free ordinances. For more information, or to make a request for training or technical assistance, please contact Kate Walz, kwalz@nhlp.org, Marcos Segura, msegura@nhlp.org, or Natalie Maxwell, nmaxwell@nhlp.org.

Last Updated December 2024

NHLP Resources for Advocates

California Assembly Bill 1418 FAQ (2024)

*NEW* FAQ guide on AB 1418 and what it means for California residents.

Open Records Requests Guide on Nuisance Property Ordinances and Crime-Free Programs (2021)

*NEW* guide on sample open records requests advocates can send to local governments with crime-free programs and nuisance property ordinances.

State Protections for Tenants Needing Police or Emergency Assistance (2019)

A number of states have laws that protect someone’s right to call police or emergency assistance, though the level of protection varies by state. This one-page resource provides a basic overview of several common types of state protections that protect tenants from facing penalties such as eviction because the tenant (or someone on the tenant’s behalf) called for police or emergency assistance. Oftentimes, local nuisance or crime-free ordinances impose such penalties.

Local Nuisance Ordinances: Impacts on Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence: Information and Resource Packet for California Advocates (2019)

This information packet provides a number of resources related to nuisance ordinances, as well as the new California law, The Right to a Safe Home Act (AB 2413). The Act went into effect in January 2019, and provides protections for survivors of domestic and sexual violence, as well as owners and others, from negative consequences for calling for police or emergency assistance. The packet includes an updated Know Your Rights brochure for California tenants who are facing eviction for reasons related to domestic violence, sexual assault, and other forms of abuse.

Getting Evicted for Calling the Police: Nuisance Ordinances and Their Impacts on Domestic Violence Survivors – Information for Local Advocates (2018)

This brief question-and-answer resource provides advocates with an introduction to the topic of nuisance and crime-free ordinances, and how such ordinances can negatively affect survivors of domestic violence and other populations.

NHLP Trainings

Monitoring and Enforcement of AB 1418 – California’s Law to Curb Discriminatory Local Crime-Free Policies (January 2024)

AB 1418 is a sweeping piece of legislation that aims to curb the use of so-called crime-free policies by local government entities. This webinar will explain AB 1418’s restrictions, local government obligations, and it will equip advocates with monitoring and enforcement strategies.Local laws and policies such as nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing policies penalize survivors of domestic and sexual violence for seeking police or emergency assistance. Often, this has resulted in survivors being threatened with eviction simply for requesting help due to the actions of their abusers.  This webinar, co-presented with the Western Center on Law and Poverty.

Crime-Free Programs and Nuisance Property Ordinances: Their Impact on Survivors and Other Protected Groups (June 2022)

A growing number of local governments have enacted some form of a crime-free housing program and/or nuisance property ordinance. These laws and programs can have profound and long-lasting harm on renters, in particular survivors of violence and other protected classes. This training helps advocates and OVW grantees learn how these laws may run afoul of the law, deter survivors of violence and others from seeking help, and generally undermine public safety and efforts within a community to increase racial equity. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) discuss their efforts to combat these laws and programs and describe individuals or programs harmed by these laws or programs may be able to seek help. The training also discusses how grantees in jurisdictions with these laws and programs can protect survivors and other protected groups from harm by working with landlords to prevent evictions related to these laws and programs.

 

Crime-Free Programs and Nuisance Property Ordinances: How Their Enforcement May Violate Civil Rights and Other Laws and Harm Survivors of Violence (December 2021)

While crime-free programs and nuisance property ordinances are increasingly common, their enforcement may violate civil rights and other laws. These laws and programs also harm survivors of violence and other protected classes, such as communities of color and persons with disabilities. This webinar outlines how local governments who enact and enforce these laws and programs may be exposed to a range of potential legal liability, while also threatening the housing stability of survivors of violence, communities of color, and persons with disabilities.

Federal and State Protections for Survivors Who Call Police or Emergency Assistance (September 2019)

Survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking often need to call for police and emergency assistance. However, local laws called nuisance or crime-free housing ordinances often penalize survivors and their landlords for repeated calls for police or emergency assistance – as such calls are designated as “nuisance” conduct. This webinar provides an overview of state and federal laws that protect the right to seek emergency assistance. The webinar focuses in part on NHLP’s research regarding state-level protections that protect individual’s rights to seek assistance.

New California Protections for Survivors Calling Police or Emergency Assistance: An Overview of Assembly Bill 2413 (September 2019)

Local laws and policies such as nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing policies penalize survivors of domestic and sexual violence for seeking police or emergency assistance. Often, this has resulted in survivors being threatened with eviction simply for requesting help due to the actions of their abusers. In 2018, California passed Assembly Bill 2413, which offers housing protections for survivors and others who need to call 911 to summon police or emergency assistance. This webinar, co-presented with the Family Violence Appellate Project, provides attendees with an overview of nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing policies, how they harm survivors, and how California law now includes additional protections for survivors so that they do not have to choose between their safety and their homes. Presenters also discuss a new state court form that reflects AB 2413’s new protections.

Nuisance and Crime-Free Ordinances and their Impact on Housing Access for Survivors (April 2019)

This training–presented as part of the International Conference on Sexual Assault, Intimate Partner Violence, and Increasing Access—provides an overview of nuisance and crime-free ordinances. The slides present tips on how to locate nuisance ordinances and crime-free policies in one’s community, as well as state and federal protections that may be available to survivors and others seeking police or emergency assistance.

Informational Packet

Nuisance Ordinances and Crime-Free Housing Policies: Impacts on Survivors of Domestic Violence (March 2019)

This presentation, presented as part of a Fair Housing Law Hot Topics training, describes how nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing programs can be discriminatory. Additionally, this training discussed the California law, AB 2413 (The Right to a Safe Home Act), that offers housing protections for survivors and others needing to call for police or emergency assistance.

Informational Packet

Nuisance and Crime-Free Ordinances/Policies: Protections for Survivors of Domestic and Sexual Violence (October 2018)

This webinar provides an introduction to the issue of nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing policies, including how they jeopardize housing security for survivors of domestic and sexual violence; generally discuss federal and state-level protections for survivors and other groups who are impacted by nuisance ordinances; and outline NHLP’s resources concerning the nuisance and crime-free issue.

Housing Rights for Domestic Violence: Providing Refuge – A Legal Training (June 2018)

This training focuses on several topics related to housing rights for survivors, including the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, the intersection between domestic violence and fair housing, and nuisance and crime-free ordinances.

Domestic Violence and Fair Housing (April 2018)

This training focuses on the intersection between domestic violence and fair housing; the presentation highlighted the issue of nuisance and crime-free ordinances.

Federal Government Guidance

U.S. Department of Justice, HUD Issues Fair Housing Act Guidance to Help Domestic Violence Victims (November 2016)

In November 2016, several divisions of the Department of Justice – Office on Violence Against Women, the Office on Community Oriented Policing Services, and the Office of Justice Programs – issued a statement about the HUD guidance. The statement calls upon local governments, housing providers, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to review the HUD guidance and examine nuisance and crime-free ordinances, as well as crime-free housing programs, to ensure that these local approaches are not discriminatory.

HUD, Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Enforcement of Local Nuisance and Crime-Free Housing Ordinances Against Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Crime Victims, and Others Who Require Police or Emergency Services (September 2016)

This guidance examines how the enforcement of nuisance ordinances and crime-free housing ordinances could violate the Fair Housing Act. Since the overwhelming majority of domestic violence survivors are women, any policies or practices that affect survivors may constitute sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. This HUD guidance focuses on the effect that the enforcement of nuisance and crime-free housing ordinances may have on survivors of domestic violence.

NHLP Summary of HUD Guidance

Department of Justice August 15, 2024 Letter to State and Local Police Departments and Governments Concerning Crime-Free Programs and Nuisance Property Ordinances.  

HUD June 10, 2022 Implementation of the Office of General Counsel’s Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records by Providers of Housing and Real Estate-Related Transactions

Select Cases

Briggs v. Norristown (HUD Conciliation Agreement 2014)

A domestic violence survivor sued the Borough of Norristown challenging an ordinance that penalized landlords with tenants who called the police too many times during a certain period. The ordinance did not have an exception for domestic violence survivors seeking police protection from their abusers. As part of the private settlement agreement and HUD Conciliation Agreement, Norristown repealed the ordinance, paid the plaintiff damages, and created an education and outreach program, including a brochure regarding rights under the Fair Housing Act. Further, the agreement mandated that Norristown require certain town officials and employees to undergo fair housing training with an emphasis in sex and disability discrimination. For more information on the Briggs case, please see the ACLU’s website.

City of Berlin, NH (HUD Conciliation Agreement 2015)

HUD filed a fair housing complaint against the City of Berlin alleging that the City’s ordinance requiring landlords to evict tenants cited three or more times for “disorderly behavior” was illegally discriminatory as it had a disproportionate effect on women who were domestic violence survivors. The HUD Conciliation Agreement required the City to amend the ordinance to exempt incidents where the resident is a victim of domestic violence.

Markham v. City of Surprise et.al, (Settlement Agreement 2016)

In April 2016, the ACLU reached a settlement agreement with the City of Surprise, Arizona requiring Surprise to repeal their nuisance ordinance and agree not to adopt an ordinance or policy that penalizes or punishes tenants, residents, or landlords for calls for police service, or penalizes or punishes them for criminal activity of which they are the victims. The agreement and a subsequent court order provided for over $200,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees and costs. For more information on the Markham case, please see the ACLU’s website.

Brumit v. Granite City (Amicus Brief, January 2023)

Amicus Brief in Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case of Brumit v. Granite City.

NHLP staff: Kate Walz and Eric Dunn

Please see Appendix 2 of An Affordable Home on Re-entry for additional cases.