Go Ahead - Raise Those Public Housing Rents!

“HUD plan would exact its price on poor” … That’s the headline in the South Bend Tribune’s Opinion page this morning. The article contains quotes from a Housing Authority Executive Director and the Indiana Institute for Working Families and Ben Carson, Trump appointee as the Secretary of HUD – none of whom see from the trenches how those living in the project based Section 8 really utilize those dollars. Why don’t they talk to the Managers on the front line in the Affordable Housing Crisis?

Working in the housing industry for many years affords one a special insight into what residents go through during the process and I think it also lends a unique lens into what really happens in public housing, whether it is project based Section 8 or the Housing Choice voucher program (which has impacted Fair Housing by becoming a new “protection” as a source of income for many low income families in many cities across the United States.)

Having managed HUD housing communities in Mishawaka and Elkhart in Indiana, and in Detroit, Michigan, what I noticed first thing is there is a significant number of very young single parents, all female, in my experience who live in public housing, all of whom have at least one child. While living in these communities, many report little to zero income, which is absurd. There cannot be anyone living in publicly subsidized housing who have zero income. It’s not possible. News flash. There is no such thing as an immaculate conception. With single mothers come the boyfriend(s), otherwise known as the Baby Daddy. In my experience, the Mama Drama closely follows for a majority of this phenomenon.

The other large component of public housing are those living on fixed incomes, our senior citizens. These folks are the ones who truly need our support. Those who are 55+, disabled, and living on fixed monthly incomes have no recourse except to enter into the circus known as Waiting List Hell, Annual Recertification Interrogation Time, and Monthly, Annual, Insurance, and HUD Reac Inspection Inconveniences just to secure their spot in the bureaucracy known as HUD residency.   

Of course, this is a severely truncated version of subsidized housing, and unfortunately, it may roll along with all the versions we see on television and movies where the housing seems rundown, not well kept and full of those unsavory, rough guys with nothing better to do than sit around on steps in front of those rundown buildings in the middle of the day – something akin to those scenes in The Blind Side movie, which are eerily accurate. But I digress. My whole point is that I agree – raise the rents for those in Public Housing! Please! Do it today with exemptions for those 55+ and disable residents.

The way I see it, Public housing was instituted to solve a social “problem”: where do we place families whose jobs have withered away as a factories closed, etc. I applaud the public assistance programs in America; however, there should be limitations and goals for those receiving this assistance because I do not believe the programs we have in place were created to perpetuate dependency.

I think those who are applying and getting approved and moving into apartments because they are single mothers who have nowhere else to go is an even bigger problem than what the rent charged is. When I first entered this housing arena, there was a stipulation that these residents attend school or work training programs so they could get a job and get out of public housing. Once they have been working for three months (more or less) they report their earnings and a recertification is completed and the rent would increase. I can tell you that in 99% of those cases, as soon as the new rent would start, they would suddenly lose the job and would go back to free rent. How does that help anyone become self-sufficient? Administratively, it is a nightmare for those onsite employees who make less than $25,000 per year to process all the paperwork involved. Complete computer software programs were created to solve this paperwork and calculation nightmare.

For those who bellyache about the high cost of childcare, back then there were child care vouchers to cover that cost. I was the Executive Director of childcare facility funded in part from the United Way and my Center accepted those vouchers. Fifty percent of those vouchers were lost because those parents using them lost jobs because they failed to show up for work, or dropped out of the training programs, or struggled completing their GEDs, necessary for getting a better job, or any job for that matter.

I’ve strayed a bit. Raising rents is not a bad thing. Finally, someone is saying what those who see it every day onsite already know. It’s easy to be poor in America. We practically make that a requirement for those able-bodied individuals who live in Public Housing.

Why Are Maintenance Teams So Unhappy?

Do I expect too much? I’m beginning to think this is true and it’s a problem I should get a handle on. Here’s the thing: I see a lot of onsite teams trying to get it together and make it all happen so that move ins can occur on time, work orders are completed in a timely fashion and the property overall is maintained beautifully. When that doesn’t happen, it’s my job to figure out why there is onsite turmoil.

Frankly, I’m tired of hearing from Maintenance Techs that their pay is too low. “Give me a raise and I’ll work harder.” Or, “Pay me what I’m worth and I can step in and handle that project. You won’t have to hire a contractor.” This banter is what I am having trouble wrapping my head around so I can sympathize.

Corporate level leaders usually follow that philosophy with, “You knew what the pay was when you signed your Offer Letter. How do you come back six months later demanding more pay?”

Maintenance techs are worth every penny they are paid. More and more companies are looking to hire techs who have certifications in Pool Operations, HVAC, who also have detailed plumbing skills who can install shut off valves for buildings and, can solve drainage issues, can repair drywall … Honestly, that list is even more extensive. So, WILL OFFERING $4.00 MORE AN HOUR OVER THE GOING MARKET SALARY IN YOUR AREA ENSURE YOU HAVE LOYALTY AND A GREAT NEW EMPLOYEE?

Nope, it sure doesn’t. 

As a property manager, how many times has a tech or supervisor walked in, laid his/her keys on the desk and walked away? From what I hear from Property Managers all over the country, pay might be the least of it. What I hear is Techs, Managers, Leasing Consultants stating they quit because of the workload and not enough company resources to pay for supplies, marketing materials, and lack of respect by upper management or having a too-demanding boss. 

I call bullsh*t. 

I love maintenance techs, so do not misunderstand the message I’m trying to make. Techs are the most important role onsite, in my opinion. Without them the property will not function or thrive. However, do not overinflate your skill level, your customer service skills, and/or your ability to do the detail work. Stop turning units where you don’t install a new tub drain cover or pop assembly that are completely rusted. Stop walking out of a unit knowing you just tweaked the issue so it will last one more day or week or month knowing the resident will call back eventually. Fix it right the first time. Don’t skip over one work order because it “looks hard.” And, please, do not turn in a work order as Complete when it is not (because you “think” you did that one but can’t really remember because you lost the actual work order.) It makes the whole team look incompetent and untrustworthy.

Because our Maintenance Teams are so important, I see a lot of egos, either, over-inflated and cocky, or feeling defeated from lack of recognition. Managers, how do you handle this? Until the last couple of years, I had never seen such detached maintenance techs who ignore what a Manager will ask be done and go off on their own agenda. What happened to the team concept? What happened to Morning Meetings (15 minutes) to discuss the Plan for the Day? What happened to the “Go Get ‘em” attitudes? 

It’s a lot better onsite when everyone looks out for each other and there is no us against them and us against the Residents philosophical approach to property management. Just wondering how we get there again.

Do You Condone Sexual Harassment on Your Properties?

Before you answer, consider your policy,the training of your onsite staff, and how prepared you are to act decisively should an employee report the incident.

I happened upon a discussion going on in an Apartment Management/Maintenance Facebook group the other day where a young woman manager who lives on site with her children was asking for advice on how to handle two older male residents where one was hugging and kissing her and the other was telling her explicit, off-color jokes. The first 40 comments were advising her to play it off with humor, ignore it (after all, they’re just “dirty old men” or telling her supervisor because once she tells, it becomes the supervisor’s problem to solve. 

Uh. NO. This is the very definition of sexual harassment and she should not have to deal with this at work. The Original Poster worried that they “know where she lives” and she lives alone with her children. Furthermore, it has been going on for five years. Yes, FIVE YEARS. 

Unless you have personally experienced this type of fear, this type of humiliation, this kind of attention that is unsolicited, unwanted, and difficult to stop, you may find it hard to understand; it is a situation no one wishes to be subjected to for one minute, let alone years. This is the exact reason I left the most personally rewarding and fulfilling career of teaching. Yes, I reported it. Yes, my attorney issued a tort claim notice to the school system, yes, they knew about it. Soon everyone in town knew about it. But I couldn’t erase the fact that it had happened over a period of months. And one day I quit. Just walked out. It was on a Wednesday before Thanksgiving after having a meeting with the principal and the Director of Human Resources where I was informed that he was tenured and would no longer be barred from my classroom. That essentially, I would have to go forward with my complaint in court and until then, it would be “business as usual” at the school.  By Monday afternoon, I received a phone call from the Director of Human Resources asking me to return, (apparently the district’s legal counsel had cautioned against letting me quit like that) and I was torn.

Pay close attention to the people who don’t clap when you win.

The day I came back to work, every single teacher, secretary, principal, paraprofessional, coach, and custodian in the school stopped by my classroom to say, “Welcome Back!” and to offer words of support and encouragement. Every one, except the offender/accused and the teacher rep who taught across the hall from him. So, a small victory in life – acknowledgement from my peers and support.

I paid close attention to those who clapped and the two who did not.

If this young manager feels afraid, feels tormented by the actions of these two residents, and does not feel supported by her Owner to correct this behavior and put them on notice that their actions constitute sexual harassment, then how long do you think she will last in this industry? I doubt that it will be much more than the five years she has suffered already.