Housing law and health outcomes

Housing conditions are important factors affecting public health. Nevertheless, millions of families are still exposed to environments that cause avoidable diseases, economic hardship, and social inequity. This paper posits that the law of habitability ought to be treated as public health law, because the inadequate enforcement of housing codes allows landlords to pass the avoidable costs of medical care on to the tenants, the public, and the healthcare system. This paper reviews the origin and the scope of the implied warranty of habitability, identifies statutory codes, discusses enforcement issues, and uncovers types of code violations, including mold, infestations, lead, and inadequate utilities that cause pediatric asthma, lead poisoning, and other diseases of adaptation and stress that are pervasive in contemporary poured concrete societies, to compound the suffering of the affected families. Higher emergency room use, school absences, and loss of productive work hours are some other economic impacts of poorly constructed dwellings and inadequate housing services. The paper engages in a comparative analysis of strong enforcement in New York and California and weaker enforcement in other areas of the United States, as well as lessons from the United Kingdom and the European Union, where preventive housing policies have resulted in better health. The recommendations that follow are based on the need for primary integrated enforcement of housing and health codes, expanded tenant remedies, and other interventions from the principles of social equity. Safe, healthy housing is a legal right and a public health need.