Property Management Support Services

^{At the intersection between customer service and project sustainability}

Summary & Funding

DRAFT Concept for Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) Consideration

To optimize property management services for affordable housing residents, and better sustain properties over time, Property Management could use support with:

• tenant communications and meetings;
• triaged interventions to avert evictions and problem solve with tenants;
• transition services to assist tenants with move-ins, transfers and move-outs; and
• coordination of care support to facilitate communications with outside agencies providing support services to tenants.

These Property Management Support Services, to be delivered by verifiably qualified tenant coaches or advocates, could be additions to regular property management staff or be sub-contracted vendor service providers with qualified personnel. Such services would not take the place of  social service agency assistance, which tend to include traditional case management, clinical or non-clinical health and wellness programming, “wealth building” services and training, civic organizing and community engagement  activities – which should all be separately funded.

However, Property Management Support Services, as described in this draft concept paper, are intended to increase Property Management’s ability to economically sustain affordable housing developments. Simultaneously, such services can help to avert evictions, homelessness and increase housing stability for tenants, while opening doors of opportunity for upward mobility and moves to market rate housing. It is estimated that an increase in property management fee support from 7 to 10% of rental income could fund Property Management Support Services. A pro forma example from recently closed 100-unit development  would yield a net increase of approximately $40,000 annually.

See details below for examples of Property Management Support Service eligible activities.

.

Tenant Communications & Meetings

Property managers often need assistance in facilitating communications to tenants specific to the apartment, the tier of units, the building or community. People can be more responsive to different kinds of media or communication, from flyers, to phone calls, to messaging, and to in-person meetings of building or specialized groups.  Property Management Support Service staff, in the person of “Tenant Coaches” or others, can help to facilitate communications for property managers on multiple platforms and organize meetings where property management issues would be top-of-agenda with current priorities, problems and solutions.

.

Triaged Interventions

When property managers are informed or become aware of problems at apartments or with tenant households, they will enforce lease and tenancy requirements in a consistent fashion.  Situations could include apartment maintenance issues; violations of building rules, illegal activities, matters of conflict resolution between tenants, financial or health situations to be managed, or circumstances which threaten  tenants’ ability to live independently. Tenant Coaches or support staff will play a vital role in supporting property managers, and to the extent feasible, averting evictions and assuring housing stability.

Tenant Coaches or property management support services team members can determine household eligibility for rental assistance, budget counseling, and/or make social service, economic assistance or mental health referrals to outside agencies. Property management support staff, being in regular communication with tenants, might also be available to support them as advocates for past due maintenance requests and similar routine problem-solving support activities.

.

Transition Services

Additional staff or vendor support is needed to assist in initial tenant orientation, and tenant education in general, beyond the execution and explanation of documents. This would include education or training by Tenant Coaches or support personnel about building rules, procedures for rent payments, orientation to online software for accounts, maintenance requests, and sharing welcome resource directory to new location/community. Supplemental support is needed for 90-day post-move check-ins to assure understanding of tenant expectations, a reasonable adjustment to building, neighbors and home/common area maintenance.

Property management support is also needed for monitoring and facilitating right-sizing or relocations due to changing household needs, or to administer emergency moves in support of the property manager.

.

Coordination of Care Support

When outside agencies support special needs of certain tenants with ongoing counseling or specialized services, property management Tenant Coaches or support services team members could be a liaison to outside agencies for receiving or sharing property management priorities consistent with confidentiality requirements. Both property management and outside agencies would have the same goal for integrating residents in the life of their building and community.