Everyone deserves a safe, stable, affordable, healthy place to call home.
Healthy housing is a key element in ensuring that people have a decent place to live and encompasses a wide range of hazards and other conditions found in homes that can negatively impact resident health and safety, such as lead-based paint, mold, moisture, pests, and more.
Cities have several tools by which they can affect the structures and systems that address health concerns. The Healthy Housing module of the Local Policy Hub explores how communities can improve the health and wellbeing of residents by taking strong, sensible policy action.
This Local Policy Hub will share real-world examples of policy strategies different cities have deployed, providing both downloadable ordinances with language to consider adapting locally and other relevant resources.
How to Use the Hub
- Actual ordinances are provided for download as PDFs within each strategy.
- As you explore the Local Policy Hub, you will find links to accompanying resources. A compiled list of resources is also available in the Appendix.
Click the arrows to learn more about how to navigate the toolkit.
💡Top Navigation
Click the arrow next to HOME to expand the menu and jump to specific chapters:
💡Back to Top & Print this Page
Use the Back to Top button in the lower-right-hand corner of your screen to return to the menu at any time.
Use Print this Page to create a printer-friendly version of the text in each chapter.
💡Left-hand Navigation & Tags
Use the left-hand navigation to jump to topics within the same page.
Tags will direct you to a list of additional NLC.org resources related to the same topic.
Context & Policy Categories
The ordinances included are all carefully vetted practices and policies that local leaders can use to easily identify and compare available options and language. The Start Here section provides a deeper understanding of the policy categories and selection process.
Start Here
Context and important considerations to help you make the most of the policy hub.
Rental Registry
Proactive Rental Inspection
Performance-Based Rental Licensing
Lead Poisoning Prevention
Acknowledgements & Appendices
Get Technical Assistance
For additional information and resources to assist local policymaking, please reach out to the healthy housing team.