For years, Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) tenant leaders have shone a public light on the hazardous, unbearable apartment conditions they face, and urged city officials to develop solutions to hold landlords accountable. Despite paying market-rate rents, mold, rats, and leaky sewage are just some of the issues experienced by these tenants.

Almost a decade ago, DAI was at the center of a successful effort to overhaul the Dallas rental housing code. After years of continued organizing, leaders have now secured a mechanism to ensure the code is enforced.

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With three asthmatic children in the family, Patricia Vega (in photo above) was constantly on the lookout for mold. "Every time we move, we think it gets better, but it does not." Realizing that the Dallas housing code enforcement offered no protections, she, with a group of women from San Juan Diego Catholic Church, enlisted the support of Dallas Area Interfaith (DAI) to change the law.

In a little over a year of public action, DAI church leaders confronted landlords, secured the support of allies, negotiated with adversaries, and ultimately changed the housing code of Dallas in a fundamental way. Says Heather Way, a professor at University of Texas School of Law who specializes in affordable housing law, "These reforms are much needed and should have a big impact on protecting the health and safety of Dallas's most vulnerable." FOX News calls the code the "toughest landlord rules in the state." Said former code enforcement prosecutor, Councilmember Adam McGough, "this is unprecedented."

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Bachman Lake residents lined up at the podium with photos depicting bedbugs, mold, leaky windows and malfunctioning air conditioning -- all of which came from a neighborhood inspection of apartments involving 60 resident leaders -- organized by Dallas Area Interfaith. On Monday, resident leaders held a press conference urging the city's Housing Committee to adopt their recommendations in a bid to toughen up Dallas' housing code. One leader, Patricia Vega, has two children with asthma living in an apartment with mold in the bedroom and a broken window that leaks when it rains. Said Dr. Barry Lachman, President of the Asthma Coalition of Texas and leader with Temple Shalom, "no family should ever have to live under the conditions we saw in Bachman Lake."

The housing committee agreed, and city council will vote on the proposal next month.

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