The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "housing code" ...
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Hurricane Coverage
Substandard and poorly enforced building codes led to houses that were unsafe during hurricanes in Mobile, Alabama. Gaps were also found in the county's evacuation plan and in the sturdiness of oil rigs constructed in the Gulf of Mexico.
Tags: hurricane; oil rigs; gas rigs; building codes; Hurricane Katrina
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House of Hoard
This FOX 42 Prime Assignment follows an Omaha woman who is battling the city over whether or not her trash-filled home and yard are fit for living. Hidden cameras spy on her as she rummages through neighbors' trash cans and court dates mount as she has almost 50 outstanding charges against her.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; health hazard; demolition; trash; housing code; Omaha; code enforcement; hidden camera
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Prison Zip Codes
This investigation by WSMV looks at the trend of parolees, prisoners, their respective zip codes, and the continuous cycle of violence that occurs when they're released into the same environment. The trend shows that certain zip codes with hundreds of parolees also tend to have the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV. Through their analysis, reporters at WSMV discovered that many of these parolees have no choice but to return to these high-crime neighborhoods with cheap housing due to their criminal past. "So when parolees return to these areas, they are exposed to crime again and get caught up in a cycle of violence."
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Housing Code Violations Fall Through the Cracks
Spencer Soper and Santa Rosa's Press Democrat investigate how landlords in Sonoma County exploited a weak and understaffed county code enforcement division. Landlords let their rental properties fall into disrepair, endangered the lives of tenants, and piled up numerous violations with no serious legal repercussions.
Tags: rental properties; housing inspection; housing code violations; Sonoma County Housing; negligent landlord
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Why Roofs Failed: Lessons of Two Hurricanes
Following the four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004, this investigative team probed into why damage to homes was so significant despite seemingly high building codes. Politicians took 10 years to enact these stricter codes, meaning all homes built within that period were inadequately prepared for hurricanes. The most common type of damage was that done to roofs. This investigation found roofing tiles were not fit for Florida housetops. A flaw existed even in the brand new building codes: inland homes were not held to the same standards as those on the coast. However, these 2004 hurricanes proved damage was comparable no matter how close homes were to the water.
Tags: hurricane; wind; rain; weather; damage; building code; home; house; roof; shingle
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Building Homes: Building Problems-Follow the Inspectors
This story exposed a government inspection system that has no standards. The state building code, and the often overworked local inspectors who enforce it, offers little to no assurance that a buyer will move into a home that even meets minimum building standards. They found that in one county, in more than 400 instances, inspectors conducted 25 inspections a day or more. That is at least twice what is considered by experts to be a reasonable daily workload. On many occasions inspectors did 40-50 inspections in one day. And they missed violations.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; building code; inspections; home inspections; framing inspection; Orlando county; orang county; Osecola county; lake county; inspection quality; inspector work schedule; housing inspector records
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Hardly a Home; Crime, pests plague tenants; Many tenants want out; 'If nobody cares,' why bother, police wonder; Apartment woes are news to council members
This four-part investigative story focuses on a group of apartment complexes in Colorado Springs owned by Terry Ragan. The complexes, which are primarily occupied by low-income families, were not only found to be extremely dangerous, but were also found to provide unacceptable living conditions to tenants. The article describes problems in the complexes such as lack of heat, water leaks, cockroach infestation, sewage backups, drug dealing, and violence with weapons, among others. Due to yearly police and fire code inspections and court services, Ragan's complexes end up costing taxpayers about $1 million each year.
Tags: FOIA; sub-standard housing; Cedar Creek Apartments; El Vecino Apartments; Mountain Country Estates; Pine Creek Village Apartments; Pinons Apartments; Shannon Glen Apartments; South Pointe Apartments; The Timbers
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If These Walls Could Talk
Those living or looking to live rental housing in L.A. depend on the Health Department for inspections. The investigation exposed that the L.A. County Health Department has a secret system of grading rental housing inspections, but doesn't make these records available to the public. So renters are unaware of these conditions before they move in. Additionally, the investigation exposes further problems with L.A.'s housing inspection program. There are repeat health code violators, and action is rarely taken against them.
Tags: Los Angeles County Health Department; Rental Housing; Landlords; Housing Inspections; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; Health Code
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American Dreams
"Each year, hundreds of non-English speaking Mexican men and women are recruited by one of the largest landscaping corporations in the U.S., Torre & Bruglio of Pontiac, MI. T&B brings them in the U.S. under the special federal 'Guestworker' program to live and work in suburban Detroit for eight months. They are promised good housing and wages of $9 to $12 and hour to trim shrubs and cut grass --a fortune for most, who live in a country where the minimum wage is $5 a day, if they can find work." This report shows how these people were living in dangerous and deplorable houses, with major health code and zoning violations. The reporters also found that T&B would make all kinds of deductions from their salaries to pay for rent, refrigerators, furniture, television sets, uniforms, boots and equipment necessary to perform the work they were hired for. They also found that these workers were making less than minimum wage. All this on top of several violations of federal labor law.
Tags: Mexican workers; federal labor law; illegal deductions; fraud; Torre & Bruglio; Michigan; Detroit; TAPE; TV; TRANSCRIPT
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Subject to Inspection: Belleville's Housing Code Enforcement
A Belleville News-Democrat investigation revealed that "a Belleville housing code enforcement officer and an armed police officer routinely show up for occupancy permit inspections without a search warrant. When residents refuse to let them enter, the residents are issued tickets, a violation of the Fourth Amendment guarantee against illegal search and seizure. In some cases, these inspections are used as a cover to search for drugs or other criminal activity."
Tags: housing code enforcement; warrant; law; seizure; violation; Fourth Amendment; illegal; search; drugs; crime; search warrant; occupancy permit inspections; Belleville; Illinois