Many communities in the United States have been attempting to decrease crime rates, combat gang activity, and address issues such as noise in their neighborhoods for many years. They have implemented laws, known as “crime-free” or “public nuisance” laws, that give landlords the authority to evict tenants if the police or emergency services are frequently called to their rental properties.

For a long time, these policies have been criticized for being ineffective and targeting people in low-income areas and those from minority groups. Now, they are being examined for potentially causing discrimination against individuals with mental health issues.

In November of last year, the U.S. Department of Justice made a unique discovery, informing a suburb in Minneapolis that its implementation of a law aimed at preventing crime was in violation of the rights of individuals with mental health disabilities.

Many other cities and jurisdictions are now part of a larger movement to reconsider, revise, or abolish laws that have been facing increasing criticism and lawsuits.

Anti-crime and nuisance ordinances have been around for years and are widespread in their usage. More than 2,000 cities nationwide have enacted such policies since the 1990s, according to the Chicago-based Shriver Center on Poverty Law. The International Crime Free Association says at least 3,000 international cities also use them.

Under such ordinances, landlords can be fined or lose their rental licenses if they don’t evict tenants whose actions are considered a public nuisance, including those selling drugs or suspected of other crimes. They also can be required to screen potential tenants and limit the number of people living in a home or apartment.

However, each ordinance is distinct, as it specifies its targets, methods of enforcement, and penalties for non-compliance. Additionally, they often lack clarity on what constitutes a public nuisance.

The city of Anoka, Minnesota, which is currently under investigation by the DOJ, has implemented a “Crime Free Housing” ordinance that addresses issues such as loud noise, unnecessary calls to the police, and maintaining a safe living environment. While the ordinance mentions disorderly conduct as a type of nuisance call, it does not clarify what constitutes as an unfounded call or a physically offensive condition.

According to critics and courts, these subjective uncertainties have enabled biases against specific demographics.

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Certain regions also exchange comprehensive data about these calls with property owners, a practice that housing advocates argue is frequently passed on among landlords when deliberating on a former tenant’s suitability as a renter.

A law in Hesperia, California resulted in a lawsuit when a resident was evicted from her home and had to relocate to a motel. This occurred after she called for help during her boyfriend’s mental health emergency. The town’s regulation mandated landlords to have their potential tenants’ applications reviewed by the local sheriff’s office. According to the legal action, the agency shared a list of individuals who were deemed problematic renters with landlords.

Supporters argue that the reluctance to lease homes to individuals with a history of mental illness, coupled with city regulations that discourage renting to those with prior arrests, worsens the problem.

According to Corey Bernstein, executive director of the National Disability Rights Network, individuals may find themselves without a home or continuously moving between institutions and homeless shelters.

According to Devon Orland, the litigation director at the Georgia Advocacy Office for disability rights, the absence of community services frequently results in jails becoming the primary facilities for individuals with mental health issues, essentially acting as psychiatric centers.

According to Orland, there have been instances of individuals causing disturbances or becoming agitated on street corners. The local authorities do not want these individuals in the area and often they return or refuse to leave, resulting in their arrest for criminal trespassing.

Studies and legal actions have shown that nuisance laws are often enforced in low-income neighborhoods and communities with a high population of people of color.

In August of 2018, a report from the American Civil Liberties Union and New York Civil Liberties Union revealed that in Rochester and Troy, New York, there was a significant amount of enforcement of “no crime” and “public nuisance” laws in areas with high poverty rates and large minority populations.

In 2017, a lawsuit was filed against Peoria, Illinois, which used a map of the city to show three years’ worth of data. The analysis found that the majority of nuisance citations were given to neighborhoods with a higher population of people of color.

According to other research and legal cases, these regulations are usually a reaction to an increase in people of color moving into the area, often from bigger cities like Cleveland or Los Angeles.

In 2019, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against Hesperia, a city located approximately 60 miles (97 kilometers) northeast of Los Angeles with a population of around 101,000. According to the agency, the city officials explicitly stated that their ordinance was a response to the growing number of residents of color.

The legal case cited a statement from a council member who referred to individuals from the Los Angeles region as being “worthless” and expressed a desire to expel them from the community as quickly as possible.

Previous legal cases have determined that policies aimed at reducing crime can harm victims of domestic abuse who frequently seek police assistance.

In 2013, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development lodged a formal grievance against the Norristown community in Pennsylvania, claiming that their ordinance permitted the town to penalize landlords for “domestic disturbances” even if no mandatory arrests were necessary.

A lawsuit was filed by a Black resident regarding a string of 2012 events involving a violent partner. The police informed her that she could be evicted for making emergency calls, so when her boyfriend stabbed her in the neck, she did not contact them. However, a neighbor called the police and the woman was flown to a hospital for urgent medical treatment, according to the lawsuit.

Several states are attempting to restrict the scope of these regulations.

Last year, Maryland enacted a law that prohibits cities and counties from punishing landlords and also prohibits landlords from evicting tenants based solely on the number of police or emergency calls made to their address. At the beginning of this year, California significantly restricted the use of crime-free policies by cities. Advocates anticipate a similar effort to pass similar legislation in Illinois.

Advocates for housing and civil liberties have contested local laws in various states, such as California, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, resulting in cities having to revise or rescind their laws through legal agreements.

Certain communities have withdrawn their support.

Starting in 2020, the ordinances of Golden Valley, St. Louis Park, and Bloomington in the Minneapolis area were mostly or entirely repealed by their respective communities.

Several cities in the region have revised their regulations, such as Faribault in 2022, which reached a settlement of $685,000 to resolve a federal lawsuit related to the legislation.

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Hanna provided an update from Topeka, Kansas.