Many elderly residents are capable of living independently. But sooner or later, you may have an elderly resident who has trouble coping with day-to-day concerns, such as managing money, paying rent on time, or keeping his unit tidy. Or you may suspect elder abuse within a household. In general...
During summer months, household members often like to use a site’s roof for recreational purposes, such as sunbathing, barbecuing, watching fireworks, or catching a breath of fresh air. But letting residents and guests use your roof could lead to liability for your site. For example, if a...
To discourage residents from damaging their units and to make it easier to get current residents to reimburse you for the cost of repairing damage they’ve caused, you should have available a list of repairs your maintenance staff perform most often and how much those repairs cost. The list...
You may occasionally get applications from households that want to use their Housing Choice vouchers at your site. The Housing Choice voucher program is a form of rental assistance administered by local public housing agencies (PHAs) that allows households to use vouchers to subsidize the rent...
On Sept. 4, 2014, HUD issued Notice H 2014-12 (Implementation of Tenant Participation Requirements in accordance with 24 CFR Part 245). HUD regulations governing tenant participation in multifamily housing projects are found at 24 CFR Part 245 Subpart B. According to HUD, tenant participation is...
Along with the cold weather comes the risk of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. CO is a colorless, odorless gas that kills an estimated 1,000 people each year, according to the National Safety Council.
HUD rules on energy assessment and conservation encourage managers to take steps to reduce their site’s energy and water usage and to engage and educate residents in making the site a greener, more sustainable place to live. Some energy assessment and conservation measures can require...
If your site has an elevator, it’s important that your staff know the proper steps to take when a passenger-filled elevator breaks down. If your staff doesn’t take the proper steps and passengers get injured during the breakdown, you could get sued, warns risk management consultant...
Dealing with domestic violence is one of the trickiest problems site managers face. You may have observed domestic violence first hand, responded to noise complaints from neighbors, have the police called to your site, been asked to terminate a lease against a resident's abusive spouse, or...
Long-term guests can be big-time headaches at assisted sites. Some residents abuse their housing assistance by letting guests stay over with them frequently or continuously. Residents may think that you won't care because they believe they're using resources at HUD's expense.
Most apartment residents are not home during the day to accept packages sent to them. That's why many sites accept packages for their residents and hold them until the residents come to pick them up. But if you do not control package deliveries and pickups, you could run into trouble, says...
If you are ever approached by a resident complaining of harassment by another resident, you need to take the claim seriously and follow up accordingly. The worst thing you could do is to ignore the complaint or write it off as a personal issue just between the two residents.
