You can hope you never need the services of a collection agency, but it's likely that you will. Suppose a resident skips out without paying the share of his rent above his subsidy. You are entitled to pursue the resident within legal means to collect past-due debts. That's when a good...
When new residents move in to your site, you should take steps to assure that they understand their responsibilities as outlined in their lease and house rules. While HUD does not require you to do this, HUD strongly encourages you to—and it is a good site management practice.
In “Follow HUD Guidelines for New Resident Orientation,” above, we discuss the importance of briefing new residents on the terms of the lease and house rules. HUD's guidelines for conducting this briefing include providing information in written form, such as a packet of handouts...
Chances are you've probably heard or received complaints about these situations. Some of them were probably easy to deal with. Others weren't. And when they happen frequently, and the...
It's not uncommon for residents to want to use devices such as air conditioners, fans, and space heaters for personal comfort and to better control the temperature in their unit. Some site owners and managers would prefer to prohibit such use, but it's likely that residents would use...
Under the federal Fair Housing Act and HUD guidelines, you must make every effort to provide “reasonable accommodations” at your site for residents with disabilities. For example, if a resident with limited mobility requests a ground-floor unit, HUD expects that you would try to...
HUD encourages—and federal laws require—equitable access to and usage of your site's common areas and community room for all residents. Handbook 4350.3 (HUD Occupancy Handbook), Chapter 2, notes that under the Fair Housing Act, owners may not “treat anyone differently in...
From time to time, you may be asked by a resident to approve the addition of a “live-in aide” to his household. Reasons for the aide vary. The resident may have a disability and need help with day-to-day living. An elderly resident may need an aide for assistance and companionship to...
A resident reports a broken lock in her unit. It's late in the evening, so you decide to wait until the next morning to have it checked out by maintenance staff. That's a mistake you don't want to make, say security experts. Your failure to repair or replace the lock immediately...
Your maintenance plan includes painting resident units on a regular schedule, but your residents might not always cooperate. For example, they may drag their feet when asked to prepare the unit for painting or grumble about giving the painters access to the unit.
