New Orleans habitability

Do this today

• Photograph the condition. Write the date.
• Dial 311 or file with City of New Orleans — Code Enforcement.
• If there is no heat, no water, or a gas smell: 911 or the utility first.

What does “livable” mean in New Orleans?

Heat, water, sanitation, and structural safety are the usual floor. The exact list is in Louisiana lease and residential tenancy statutes and often in the city housing code City of New Orleans — Code Enforcement enforces. This desk does not reprint temperature charts or hour-counts.

What if nothing happens after I report it?

Keep the request numbers from 311 or City of New Orleans — Code Enforcement. Take that file to legal aid. Do not skip rent on a rumor. If the condition is dangerous tonight — no heat in winter, a gas leak, a collapsed ceiling — treat it as an emergency.

What is different about renting in New Orleans?

Louisiana’s Civil Code lease articles are the statewide baseline — a different legal family than most states. The City layer is Code Enforcement and 311. First City Court and other parish courts hear many eviction cases. Do not import a Texas or Florida process.

The New Orleans layer

Louisiana lease law is its own system. Do not import a Texas or Florida process uncritically.

Louisiana lease and residential tenancy statutes (La. Civ. Code arts. 2668 to 2729; La. Rev. Stat. §§ 9:3251 to 9:3261.2) is the Louisiana floor. We name it. We do not paraphrase a day-count or a dollar cap out of it.

New Orleans questions

National answers on this desk

• Is a landlord notice the same as being evicted?
• What number should I call right now?
• Is there a national tenant-rights law in the United States?
• What should I do if I get an eviction notice?
• How do I find free legal help as a renter?
• Can my landlord enter without notice?