US cities from Oakland, California, to Rochester, New York, have been using rental registries to track who owns rental properties and requiring regular inspections in an effort to improve apartment quality and protect tenants from unsafe living conditions. Housing advocates say these programs fill critical information gaps in the rental market and hold negligent landlords accountable.

But landlords have been fighting such programs. For nearly two decades, efforts to pass rental registry ordinances in Pittsburgh have been thwarted by lawsuits accusing the city of overreach and of placing excessive burden on property owners. A new battle is currently winding its way through the legal system. Read more from contributor Patrick Sisson today on CityLab: With Rental Registries, Cities Seek to Close Data Gap With Landlords

— Arvelisse Bonilla Ramos

More on CityLab

For Tenants, AI-Powered Screening Can Be a New Barrier to Housing
Landlords who use algorithmic tech to perform background checks risk running afoul of fair housing laws, but companies say that these tools fight fraud and evictions.

From the Archive: Wolf of Main Street
The fastest-growing landlord in the US Midwest, Monarch Investment and Management Group, used evictions to drive up rents during the pandemic.

Mamdani Says He Would Eliminate Gifted Programs From NYC Schools
The program has been criticized for contributing to segregation in New York City.

• The housing hustle igniting a foreclosure crisis in Baltimore (Baltimore Banner)

• LA 2028 Olympics: Fears of mass displacement and homeless sweeps as Trump threat looms (Guardian)

• Massive immigration raid on Chicago apartment building leaves residents reeling: “I feel defeated” (Chicago Sun-Times)

• Hours before the Eaton fire, distribution lines failed and fire started in Altadena (NPR)

• Green Daily for the latest in climate news, zero-emission tech and green finance
• Hyperdrive for expert insight into the future of cars
• Design Edition for CityLab’s newsletter on design and architecture — and the people who make buildings happen
• Management & Work analyzes trends in leadership, company culture and the art of career building
• Nordic Edition for sharp analysis and new perspectives on the forces shaping business and finance in the Nordic region

Explore all Bloomberg newsletters.