Fresno policy allows landlords to get away with major code violations, officials admit
Fresno City Councilmembers on Thursday acknowledged the failure of city policy to protect renters exploited by slumlords following a Fresno Bee investigation into code enforcement and slum housing.
During their councilmember reports, Councilmembers Miguel Arias and Nelson Esparza both said it’s time to revisit the city’s Rental Housing Improvement Act, which established a database of rental properties in the city, began an inspection program and provided tenant education.
Fresno code enforcement officers found evidence of “substantial substandard housing conditions” at Manchester Arms apartments when city officials swarmed the buildings March 30 in response to a Bee investigation. Reporters found that despite the rental policy, the city of Fresno failed to protect tenants who live with serious health and safety code violations that sometimes persist for months.
Inez Hernandez, a mother who was evicted from Manchester Arms after complaining to code enforcement about several violations in her apartment, criticized the city at a news conference Thursday.
“It’s wrong that code enforcement isn’t doing their job,” Hernandez said. “If they did their job and made sure everything was fixed by the date they gave the owner, we would still be in our place. We wouldn’t be from home to home and hotel to hotel. All I want is for my kids to have a place they could call their own that’s safe.
“City Councilman Esparza, this is wrong, what’s happening in your district,” she said.
Esparza during Thursday’s meeting said he directed code enforcement to inspect every unit at the Manchester Arms apartment complex so city staff could evaluate how the landlord got away with violations and how those issues may apply to other properties.
His staff also took a deep dive into the 2017 Rental Housing Improvement Act and “identified what I conclude are some policy failures — some gaps that have allowed for properties like Manchester Arms — despite our reactive code enforcement, despite our proactive code enforcement,” Esparza said.
He said he hopes to propose amendments to city legislation that would prevent future slum housing conditions similar to Manchester Arms.
Arias said slum housing conditions also exist in his district and expressed interest in updating the Rental Housing Improvement Act.
“It might be time for us to revisit what’s working, what’s not, and also make sure that’s meeting the needs of the city and the residents,” he said.
The Rental Housing Improvement Act was authored by former Mayor Lee Brand in response to a previous Bee investigation on slum housing and the community’s calls for action and reform.
At the time, it was a bold and controversial piece of legislation that the Fresno City Council narrowly approved on a partisan split vote.