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Merced town hall: council advances anti‑slumlord ordinance draft after residents press for tenant protections
Summary
Residents urged stronger tenant rights and housing-code enforcement; councilmember said a draft anti‑slumlord ordinance is under review by the city attorney and state reviewers, and staff pledged follow-up on tenant legal support and enforcement capacity.
Residents at Merced’s first 2026 town hall pressed the City Council to treat housing as public safety, describing unsafe rental conditions and calling for legal help for tenants. Council members and staff said a draft ordinance and additional enforcement steps are in progress and pledged follow-up work.
Latana Rashard, speaking during public comment, framed the evening’s message: “Housing is public safety,” she said, and criticized what she described as an imbalance in the city budget that favors policing over housing. Rashard described a personal habitability case she said left her in “a unit that was filled with rodent droppings, mold, and cat urine,” and urged the council to adopt an anti‑slumlord ordinance, create a housing‑quality database and levy fees on repeat bad actors to fund non‑police code enforcement.
The council’s response centered on…
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