Lexington residents have a new tool for researching rental housing: a publicly accessible database of Code Enforcement records.

The city announced the resource October 29, allowing users to search by property address or property owner.

An address search provides a property’s violation history, while an owner search helps identify cases associated with properties held by a landlord or company.

The database covers three years of records and is updated every 15 days.

Users can review specific violations, follow explanations of the applicable property-maintenance rules and see whether cases are open or closed.

That distinction matters when assessing whether a recorded problem remains unresolved or has been addressed.

The launch follows advocacy by BUILD, an interfaith community organization seeking greater access to housing-condition information.

For renters, the records can provide useful questions to ask before signing a lease.

The database is a research tool, not a guarantee of a property’s current condition, particularly because updates are periodic.

Residents can find the Code Enforcement Database through the city’s website and compare the records with their own observations and questions for the property manager.