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A comprehensive review of housing code violation notices revealed that the majority of problems were concentrated in a small section of Lafayette, particularly in older neighborhoods west of the railroad tracks. The investigation showed that a handful of property owners had dozens of repeat offenses because they knew that ignored complaints went away. Homeowners, discouraged with little recourse against negligent property owners, are leaving neighborhoods, worsening the cycle of neglect. Profiles on the five property owners with the most violations, on neighbors who gave up and those fighting back, and on renters with no choice but to stay in the unsafe conditions.