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 City Council signalling support for significant reforms in the Dallas rental housing code, Dallas Morning News gave kudos to Dallas Area Interfaith for keeping "these issues on the council's radar and set the stage for many of the most important tweaks in the code." For the first time, the Dallas code would require inspections of the insides of single-family rentals and more frequent inspections of multi-family housing complexes.

Towards that end, the city manager's proposed budget calls for hiring 15 additional code enforcement officers to handle the exapnded responsibilities.

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