Following the Great Recession in 2008-2009, one of the major crises communities across Ohio experiences was the challenge of addressing neighborhood blight which resulted from the large number of foreclosures which took place. Many cities were just beginning to rebound when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, and now, as many experts are predicting an inevitable spike in rental evictions and property foreclosures resulting from the pandemic, there are lessons that can be learned from the Great Recession on how we can avoid a repeat of the return of blight to neighborhoods across Ohio.

The Center for Community Progress and their Rental Research CoP recently wrote about one of those key components to avoiding blight – Code Enforcement. While not a new tool, code enforcement is one tool local governments can use to support health, safety, and the economic well-being of a community.

CCP included three recommendations to local governments that should be prioritized now to prevent the anticipated harmful effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic crisis.

1. Adapt Response to Deferred Property Maintenance: Property owners (both homeowners and landlords) likely will be making decisions to postpone planned investments or repairs to their property in response to the economic downturn. Coupled with the systemic challenges communities of color have long experienced (disinvestment, predatory lending practices, discriminatory land-use policies), lack of cash and access to credit means many neighborhoods will continue to decline if there is another spike in foreclosures and evictions. Recommended responses include making connections now to develop comprehensive response systems that connect property owners to available resources and support networks as an alternative to issuing citations or levying fines and can help to identify needs to deploy state, local, and federal resources as they become available.

2. Increase Communications with Renters and Landlords: Eviction moratoriums are helping to keep families in their homes – but are only temporary and will eventually expire. What then happens to renters who cannot pay their past-due, along with next-months rent, and the landlords who need the resources? Communicating with landlords and tenants now can help local governments address the challenges and work with community partners focused on landlord-tenant relations to ensure all parties concerns are addressed and there is not a spike in evictions post-crisis.

3. Track Residential & Commercial Vacancies: Whether through required property inspections or maintenance responses, code enforcement systems can be an early and important source for data to predict and help mitigate costly vacancy issues. Code enforcement can collect relevant parcel-level data that is critical for specific property interventions but can be aggregated to track trends in neighborhood decline. Communities that have a documented inventory of existing vacant and abandoned properties, through code enforcement records, utility information, parcel surveys or ordinances requiring registration of vacant and/or foreclosed properties, will be better positioned to see the economic impacts of the crisis and develop proactive responses.

While not a perfect solution and a guarantee to prevent blight, acting now to deploy responsible code enforcement and community dialogue can help to mitigate what could be a catastrophe for neighborhoods across Ohio and around the nation. You can learn more about these recommendations on the Center for Community Progress blog.