As the head of Albany's Buildings and Regulatory Compliance department, it is Richard LaJoy's job to address code violations across the capital city.

“It keeps us busy; there is no lack of violations out there,” LaJoy said Friday.

Since taking the job almost two years ago, LaJoy says he and his team of inspectors have made an effort to crack down on the hundreds of violators; many of whom serve as landlords for low income families.

“It boils down to quality of life for the residents in the city of Albany,” LaJoy said. “We do not want residents living in conditions that aren’t conducive for healthy living.”

State Senator James Skoufis, a Democrat from Woodbury in the Hudson Valley, agreed.

“If it’s clear parts of the house are literally falling apart, that is a serious situation,” Skoufis said.

The issue is one state leaders are now taking a closer look at. Last week Skoufis announced his office is investigating the problem in the cities of Ramapo, Mount Vernon, Newburgh, and Albany.

“We want to compel better behavior,” Skoufis said. “We want to put landlords and municipalities on notice, to some extent, that this is something the state cares about, this is something the state is looking at, and we need to do better.”

Skoufis says the investigation will explore code violations ranging from the minor, like improperly leaving out trash, to more serious, like structural problems and not installing carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.

“That was an issue in the city of Newburgh that actually killed people,” Skoufis said, referring to smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. “We have people who are losing their lives because of these serious code violations.”

In addition to exposing so called "slumlords," the investigation will consider changes to state codes and stiffer penalties, which state and local leaders agree could go a long way toward addressing the problem.

"You would think after the 10th or 20th repeat violation, there’s something more than a $250 fine that should be levied,” Skoufis said.

“Any added help is helpful because we certainly have our share of violators and repeat violators,” LaJoy said of the state investigation. “Sometimes the penalties aren’t as stiff as maybe they should be.”