Crime-Free Multi-Housing

The Crime-Free Multi-Housing (CFMH) program is a crime-free ordinance program, which partners property owners, residents, and law-enforcement personnel in an effort to eliminate crime, drugs, and gang activity from rental properties.^[1]

History

The program began in Mesa, Arizona in the United States in 1992. Since then, it has spread to other US cities and several other countries.^[1]

The International Crime Free Association reports potential benefits of the program, including tenant satisfaction and increased demand for rental units.^[1]

Additionally, there has been pushback against crime free ordinances. In federal lawsuits across the country, tenants, landlords, and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have challenged crime-free ordinances and their enforcement, citing violations of fair housing laws, equal protection, due process, and the First Amendment right to free association.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Program

Three phases must be completed under police supervision:

An eight-hour seminar presented by the local police department
Certification that the rental property has met the security requirements for the tenants' safety
A tenant crime-prevention meeting is held^[6]

Participating landlords have the option to display their certification status on their property.^[6]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c International Crime Free Association (2022)
^ Archer (2021)
^ "Nuisance and Crime-Free Ordinances Initiative". NHLP.org. The National Housing Law Project. Retrieved 24 March 2024. Nuisance and crime-free laws, with related programs and policies, impose unreasonable choices on survivors of domestic and sexual violence – making them have to choose between calling for emergency assistance or losing their home. Such ordinances also negatively impact communities of color and persons experiencing disabilities.
^ "I Am Not a Nuisance: Local Ordinances Punish Victims of Crime" (document). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
^ Kanovsky, Helen R. (September 13, 2016). "Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Enforcement of Local Nuisance and Crime-Free Housing Ordinances Against Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Crime Victims, and Others Who Require Police or Emergency Services" (PDF). www.hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b Tucson (2022)

References

Archer, Deborah N. (2021-02-17). "'Crime-Free' Housing Ordinances, Explained". theappeal.org. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
International Crime Free Association (2022). "Crime Free Multi-Housing: Keep Illegal Activity Off Rental Property".
Tucson (2022). "Crime Free Multi-Housing".

External links

[auto-1] International Crime Free Association (2022)

[pushback-2] Archer (2021)

[3] "Nuisance and Crime-Free Ordinances Initiative". NHLP.org. The National Housing Law Project. Retrieved 24 March 2024. Nuisance and crime-free laws, with related programs and policies, impose unreasonable choices on survivors of domestic and sexual violence – making them have to choose between calling for emergency assistance or losing their home. Such ordinances also negatively impact communities of color and persons experiencing disabilities.

[4] "I Am Not a Nuisance: Local Ordinances Punish Victims of Crime" (document). American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved 24 March 2024.

[5] Kanovsky, Helen R. (September 13, 2016). "Office of General Counsel Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Enforcement of Local Nuisance and Crime-Free Housing Ordinances Against Victims of Domestic Violence, Other Crime Victims, and Others Who Require Police or Emergency Services" (PDF). www.hud.gov. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Retrieved 24 March 2024.

[auto1-6] Tucson (2022)

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