Code Violations (Memphis)

[Michael Hayes]

Hello All,

Quick question for the Memphis and Shelby County Tennessee marketers if there are any that use the information.  Does anyone know the steps for getting a list of code violations from the city?  Supposedly all cities should provide this as public record by law according to the Freedom of Information Act, but I'm getting the run-around.  Does anyone know where to locate this?

[Rick H.]

Somehow other posters are mis-reading the original poster's request. He wants to know how to obtain a list of Code Violators in the Memphis area.

Here's where is gets tricky:

There are about (21) different organizational models of code enforcement departure nets that I've counted, so far. This means that some are stand alone agencies, some are part of community development, building & safety, police, etc. Also, Vector Control and similar municipal and county agencies with separate budgets can be involved.

Then you've got the political aspects and the "political will" of each agency to make information public. It's surprisingly inconsistent. 

Here in CA most municipal code enforcement agencies will give you the runaround if you ask for a list of violators and require some escalation of FOIA to force releasing, at some expense. Curiously, the City of Los Angeles publishes their fresh list on a regular basis online as a PDF file. 

Alternatively, you can pull some information from county recorder, however that will typically be a situation that has escalated from administrative citation to a legal action far beyond tall weeds and broken windows.

Few will ever venture beyond their first "no" from a clerk. The successful investor will not give up and be a persistent list builder.