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In spite of strict building codes and countless government regulations, inspections and housing programs, substandard housing still exists and there are landlords willing to rent it to willing tenants.      The Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Department of housing and Urban Development (HUD) classify residential housing units according to whether the units have physical or structural deficiencies.See our members' only page on Sub-Standard Housing for a list of physical and structural deficiencies.

• It lacks hot or cold water or a flush toilet, or both a bathtub and a shower.
• The heating equipment has broken down at least three times for six hours or more during the previous winter, resulting in the unit being uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more.
• It has no electricity, or it has exposed wiring and a room with no working wall outlet and had three blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers during the previous 90 days.
• In public areas such as hallways and staircases, it has no working light fixtures, no elevator, loose or missing steps and loose or missing railings.
• It has at least five basic maintenance problems such as water leaks, holes in the floors or ceilings, peeling paint or broken plaster, or evidence of rats during the previous 90 days.
•       A residential housing unit is classified as having "moderate" physical problems if it does not have any of the severe problems, but has one or more of the following deficiencies:
• On at least three occasions in the past three months, all flush toilets were broken for at least six hours.
• Unvented gas, oil or kerosene heaters are its primary heating equipment. It lacks a sink, refrigerator, or either burners or an oven. (HUD will now allow a microwave in place of a cooking stove.)
• It has three of the four hallway or staircase problems listed above.
• It has at least three of the basic maintenance problems listed above.