Residents of sites operated by Cohoes Housing Authority in Cohoes, N.Y., have one less worry in a medical emergency. The housing authority has implemented a medical emergency data card system that puts all the information emergency medical personnel would need at their fingertips.
HUD recently issued guidance designed to offer applicants for housing the opportunity to give supplemental information about individuals or organizations that could be of help in resolving any issues that might arise during their tenancy or provide any special care or needed services. Such individuals or organizations could be family members or friends, or any social, health, or advocacy group.
It is now a lot easier for you and your residents to get federal aid to make units energy-efficient. The economic recovery program enacted earlier this year provided a substantial increase in funding for the residential Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which runs the program, has agreed to prequalify units at HUD-subsidized and LIHTC-assisted multifamily sites for participation in the program.
One of the toughest jobs of a site owner or manager is writing a good tenant selection plan. The tenant selection plan is a crucial document, says Dan Bancroft, an attorney who has written tenant selection plans for project-based sites. It gives you a way to explain and justify your decisions if you are challenged. It is your first defense against claims of illegal discrimination, and it helps your staff, applicants, residents, and program administrators know what to expect from you. Without a clear, thorough written plan, you are open to charges of acting arbitrarily or unfairly.
In April 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued important new rules on renovation, repair, and painting of housing that was built before 1978. According to the EPA, the new requirements are part of a comprehensive federal effort to eliminate childhood lead poisoning.The new rules specifically cover multifamily rental housing, so you need to be familiar with them before you begin any significant nonemergency repairs or rehabilitation projects at your site. Here are three major rules you need to follow.
For the first time since the 1940s, bedbugs in the past five years have become a serious problem for housing providers across the United States and Canada.The costs of dealing with a bedbug problem can easily overwhelm a site's annual budget for pest control. Bedbug control expert Rick Cooper describes the consequences of the resurgence of the tiny creatures for multifamily housing: “strained budgets, broken leases, unhappy tenants, and, in some cases, litigation.”
The Alabama Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities (AAHRA) is cracking down on the unwanted presence of drug dealers and those engaging in criminal activity at its public housing sites. In February 2009, the 150-member association of housing authorities in the state revised its Criminal Trespass Policy. According to AAHRA, its members can adopt the model policy to help reduce criminal activity involving drugs and other activity that “threatens the peace and tranquility desired for public housing and its residents.”
In late March, HUD announced that it was delaying the effective date of the Enterprise Income Verification System (EIV) and Social Security verification rules it issued in January (as discussed in last month's Insider). HUD has changed the effective date for the new EIV and Social Security disclosure requirements from March 30, 2009, to Sept. 30, 2009.
Many owners and managers of assisted sites use leases that give them the right to conduct periodic inspections of units to discover unsafe and unsanitary conditions and unreported maintenance problems. Early detection of these and similar situations can help prevent problems, such as insect and rodent infestations, offensive odors, major repair jobs, and flooding, says Mark Chrzanowski, a compliance specialist at the Gene B. Glick Company and an expert in HUD rules.
