Kenner, LA Rental Property Rules: Repairs & Habitability (2026)

Sec. 5-61 of the Kenner Code of Ordinances states the purpose of the city's Minimum Housing Standards Code: to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public and of dwelling owners and occupants, and it designates the standards in the rest of the article as the minimum housing standards that determine whether a dwelling or dwelling unit is fit for human habitation. Sec. 5-62 extends that reach to accessory structures and to construction, alteration, repair, use, occupancy, maintenance, removal and demolition of covered buildings.

Enforcement runs through the Division of Housing Improvement inside the Department of Regulatory Inspections, created at Sec. 5-65, whose administrator investigates complaints and inspects dwellings. Sec. 5-66 gives that administrator a right of entry during reasonable hours to inspect any building used for human habitation, extending to any time in emergencies involving potential loss of life or severe property damage, and Sec. 5-67 makes it unlawful for an owner or occupant to refuse that inspection; Sec. 5-68 lets the administrator obtain a search warrant from the municipal court if entry is refused.

When a violation is found, Sec. 5-70 requires the administrator to serve the owner with a written complaint listing the defects and a notice of hearing, and Sec. 5-71 authorizes an order either requiring repair, alteration or improvement, or, where a dwelling is found unfit for human habitation, an order to vacate and close it, posted with a placard stating that occupying it is unlawful, with the police department enforcing eviction if the order is ignored. Sec. 5-72 gives the owner a right to appeal any of these determinations to the Board of Building Standards and Appeals.