The\u00a0tenants have had longstanding problems<\/a> with mold, pests and uninhabitable living conditions that have led to health issues. Out of 23,000 code violations filed by residents or documented by code enforcement over the past three years, only one case resulted in fines being levied by the Appeals Hearing Board that reviews code enforcement cases, according to the Law Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cThe city needs to do better,\u201d Cindy Tran, an organizer for the Law Foundation, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThese issues didn\u2019t start this year. Many of these tenants are long-term renters in San Jose and they feel as though landlords are given chance after chance. But these issues continue to return or are outstanding despite contacting the city.\u201d<\/p>\n San Jose inspects apartments on a three-tiered system<\/a>, with the frequency of inspections varying from three, five and six years depending on the building\u2019s code violation history. Buildings with the most violations and\u00a0least compliant are inspected every three years, while owners at the lowest tier submit their own annual inspections to the city.<\/p>\n The coalition is calling for stricter regulations that include a third party to conduct inspections instead of\u00a0 landlords certifying their own buildings; require building-wide inspections once one apartment has a confirmed violation; register landlords who continue to be noncompliant; enforce penalties for violations and more.<\/p>\n The Healthy Homes coalition has helped about 300 to 400 residents form tenant organizations in South San Jose, East San Jose and downtown.<\/p>\n Marika Krause, spokesperson for the Planning, Building and Code Enforcement Department, said the city is already implementing some of the changes the coalition is asking for.<\/p>\n The city launched a pilot program this past spring to impose more severe consequences for landlords who continually leave code violations unaddressed, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are meeting with the coalition and willing to explore how we can align with our work and ultimate goal of improving conditions for tenants,\u201d Krause told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe believe there is\u00a0good work\u00a0we could\u00a0accomplish\u00a0together.\u201d<\/p>\n Krause said most of the 23,000 housing code violations identified by code enforcement over the past three years have been resolved through voluntary compliance without issuing fines.<\/p>\n San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said he\u2019s asked code enforcement managers to meet with the coalition to ensure the compliance team has fully addressed outstanding cases.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Law Foundation and our code enforcement department agree that no one should live in unsafe, unsanitary conditions,\u201d Mahan told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Last fiscal year, San Jose issued 32 citations and more than 500 compliance orders. Citations are given for issues that are easily remedied like blight or graffiti, with fines ranging from $25 to $1,000 or more per violation, Krause said. Compliance orders are given for health and safety violations. When compliance is not met, higher fines can be levied by the appeals board on larger problems.<\/p>\n The city has 16 inspectors covering more than 110,000 apartments over roughly 6,750 buildings, according to data provided by the city.<\/p>\n Gabriel Manrique, an organizer with LUNA, said gaps exist in the system because the department is understaffed and landlords cannot be expected to document issues accurately if they are inspecting buildings. In addition, tenants are either unaware of how to file formal complaints or are afraid of retaliation.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_0002-1-1024x768.jpeg\")
LUNA organizer Gabriel Manrique said gaps exist in the system because landlords cannot be expected to document issues accurately if they are responsible for inspecting buildings themselves. Photo by Joyce Chu.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1792754775_900_interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/p>\n