Dealing with Households

Dealing with Households

Hold Orientation Meetings to Help New Households Start Out Right

February 3, 2011    

When new tax credit households move into your site, you can help them to start out on the right foot by ensuring that they have a clear understanding of their obligations for adhering to lease provisions and the house rules for your site. The orientation meeting sets the tone for the...

Stay on Top of Student Status to Avoid Tax Credit Loss

January 12, 2011    

The slow economic recovery and high unemployment rates have created a surge in full-time enrollment among vocational schools and community colleges across the United States, according to research from the American Association of Community Colleges and the National Center for Education Statistics...

Protect Residents from Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

January 12, 2011    

Site owners and managers beware: This is the time of year when accidental carbon monoxide poisonings peak. Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless gas that's produced when fuel is incompletely burned. In the winter months, faulty furnaces and fuel-burning appliances, and snow-covered or...

Prepare to Meet Challenges Presented by Aging Residents

January 12, 2011    

The world's population is aging at a rapid pace. The U.S. Census Bureau states that, in the next 10 years, people over 65 will outnumber children under 5 for the first time.

People are living longer, and they're living on their own. At least two million low-income seniors...

Take Steps to Halt Drug-Related Activity at Your Site

December 17, 2010    

Drug-related and criminal activity has long been associated with low-income housing in the public mind. While drug dealing also takes place in conventional housing sites, most drug dealers and gangs target low-income developments to push their drugs to an already fragile population, say crime...

Top Issues When Renting to Military Households

December 17, 2010    

If your tax credit site is located near a U.S. military base, your current residents or applicants may include military personnel and their families. Because of the unique nature of military service—and the likelihood of service members being deployed from their usual duty station for...

Settle Disputes Between Residents Before They Escalate

September 27, 2010    

Residents of multiunit housing sites can find that loving thy neighbor isn't always that easy. Every site owner or manager has had to deal with residents’ complaints about their neighbors at some point. Loud music, unruly kids, noisy pets, cooking odors—no matter what the issue,...

Be Proactive to Prevent Bedbugs

April 11, 2010    

“Don't let the bedbugs bite!” Most of us recognize that line from a popular nursery rhyme. It also may be a reason why many people used to believe that bedbugs were a myth. In fact, the public's resistance to believing that bedbugs are real has been one of the major hurdles...

Seven Tips for Dealing with Clutter in Common Areas

April 11, 2010    

In warmer weather, many residents find it hard to resist the temptation to use their fire escapes for recreation, often filling them with grills, chairs, plants, and the like. But for most sites, dealing with clutter or debris that obscures common areas is an ongoing, rather than seasonal,...

Take Steps Early to Deal with Hoarding

January 12, 2010    

In a recent television program, a 65-year-old woman living on her own became sick and collapsed in her home. When rescue workers arrived, they found her in the kitchen wedged among mountains of clutter, trash, and human feces. She had to be removed through the window. The show, called ...

How to Set and Enforce a Smoke Detector Agreement

December 8, 2009    

An operable smoke detector is the most critical device for preventing deaths, injuries, and property loss from fires. According to research conducted by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), almost two-thirds (63 percent) of the home fire deaths in the United States were the result of...

Share Space Heater Safety Tips with Residents

October 31, 2009    

The cold weather has arrived in many parts of the country, bringing with it the increased threat of fires due to the improper use of electric space heaters. According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters account for one-third (32 percent) of home-heating fires and three-...