On July 18, 2005, on the steps of City Hall, after years of advocacy and grassroots organizing, our City Council and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) signed a memorandum of agreement to launch a new program titled the "Targeted Cyclical Enforcement Policy (T-CEP)" to identify buildings in most need of repair. After the building is inspected from roof to cellar, HPD will follow-up to make sure that repairs are made. If the landlords refuse to repair the violations, the City will immediately initial legal actions against the landlord. This program will guarantee repairs in 7,200 apartments each year.

Currently, there are over 300,000 housing violations placed throughout the city’s apartments by code inspectors each year. Over 90,000 apartments have five or more severe maintenance deficiencies. On average, violations that are classified as immediately hazardous (requiring correction within 24 hours) take one-year to address.

This new program policy will ensure that our residents receive timely and adequate repairs to their homes that pose an immediate health and safety hazard to themselves and their families.