Dallas

Group Says Dallas Housing Code Needs Update

Dallas area interfatih leaders called for improved apartment conditions across the city at City Hall Monday morning.

The Dallas Area Interfaith Group said the city housing code has needed to be updated for decades and they called on city leaders to focus on a few areas.

DAI officials pointed out that in a recent walking tour of properties in the Bachman Lake area, they found rooms full of mold, bed bugs, sewage backing up out of drains and coniditions that they call deplorable.

The group wants the city to strengthen minimum standards for property owners when it comes to bedbugs fumigation, addressign mold and providing air conditioning. They also want there to be better records, an imporved complaint and repair process and more meaningful and consistent enforcement.

The Dallas Housing Committee is getting a briefing on what stakeholders have to say about changes to the housing code.

Last November, the city sued a landord in an effort to take over 190 properties that had flagrant code violations and crime issues. But DAI leaders said more needs to be done.

"The city has begun to take action, but is really only able to do that with one arm behind their back because the code is so inadequate," DAI's Dr. Barry Lachman said.

DAI officials also recommended that crime reports be available to residents before they sign a lease.

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