Community groups file lawsuit against Buffalo rental law

Just a few months ago, a coalition of community groups came together to protest what many describe as a lack of enforcement of various aspects of housing laws in the City of Buffalo.

The main complaint was that city officials failed to implement the City of Buffalo’s proactive rental inspection program.

Learn more:Buffalo City to Require All Rental Properties to Be Inspected

The PRI Act requires all one- and two-unit properties that are not occupied by the owner to be registered as rental properties and inspected annually by the Buffalo Department of Permits and Inspections. These rules apply to all rental units, whether occupied or vacant, and landlords must maintain an annual Certificate of Rental Compliance. The program was designed to require landlords to ensure that their properties meet New York State’s standards for habitability, as well as comply with fire safety and other health-related regulations such as mold, asbestos, rodents and lead.

The program will be implemented…to ensure that these rental properties are safe, habitable and comply with applicable municipal and building codes.
-City of Buffalo, Department of Inspections

In a city where the lead problem is described as worse than Flint, Michigan, you would think officials would take deliberate action to address the problem.

LEARN MORE: Buffalo’s Lead Problem

Previously, when the 39 community groups protested, they would hand-deliver a letter to Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s office demanding that the city begin complying with its laws within 30 days and provide proof, and if it didn’t, it would sue.

If the city doesn’t comply, we’re prepared to consider legal action to enforce this law… We’ve used every traditional advocacy tool that we have, as you know, the media has been talking about lead poisoning in Buffalo for 10 years. 30 years if you look at the media archives. We’ve been on the Council, we’ve been on the Department, so there’s not much left for us to do except continue to lobby in the media and consider legal action.
-Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, Chief Executive, Partnership for Public Good

READ MORE: Community groups call for help to improve housing quality in Buffalo, New York

Now, nearly five months later, these community groups have filed a lawsuit against the city because it appears that virtually no progress has been made on the requests or shared with those who requested them.

According to WKBW-TV, the lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court seeks to force the city to inspect more than 36,000 rental properties as required by the PRI Act.

LEARN MORE: How Much Do You Need to Earn to Afford an Average Home in Buffalo, New York

To date, only about 5,000 properties have been inspected since 2020.