Nuisance ordinance

A nuisance ordinance, also referred to as a crime-free ordinance or a disorderly house ordinance, is a local law usually passed on the town, city, or municipality level of government that aims to legally punish both landlords and tenants for crimes that occur on a property or in a neighborhood. These laws impose penalties under programs referred to as nuisance abatement when crimes are reported, regardless of whether crimes actually occurred or what the police action entailed. The result of these ordinances is for landlords to tell tenants to not report crimes, refuse to renew the lease of anyone involved in reporting a crime, and eviction of tenants involved in any crimes, even if the tenants were the victims of said crimes.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), while supporters of these ordinances argue that they prevent criminal activities in the areas under the ordinances, the actual result is instead a reduction in overall public safety and harm brought to victims of crime, particularly those suffering from domestic abuse, that are deterred from reporting the criminal activity committed against them. These ordinances have also been found to be disproportionately applied to people of color and communities that have a high minority population in general.^[1]