I think in these uncertain
times, it is best to repeat the motto “stay calm and carry on”. We, in property management, are in a service
industry and so must do our best to carry on by supporting our residents in the
safest way possible for everyone.
What should I do to prepare
employees and residents for the Corona Virus? As Steve Core, CPM, summarized
in a recent NAA Webinar, “We must educate, equip and support”. Occupancy Solutions has reviewed several up to
date resources and compiled the following summary of best practices for your
edification:
* Provide postings and ongoing updates from
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization
(WHO), local health departments, and government agencies to your residents in
an effort to inform, calm, and dispel any misinformation;
* Close all common areas if possible – give consideration
to laundry and rest rooms by leaving them open for resident use;
* Appropriate notices should be displayed
throughout the community including but not limited to:
o
Limitation of visitors & Closed areas
o
Changes in office processes
o
Changes to maintenance procedures
* If available, provide hand sanitizer throughout
common areas and office;
* Provide employees with adequate supplies and
personal protection equipment (PPE).
* Identify contingency plans to order
supplies if a primary vendor is out of stock;
* Cancel/postpone resident events and all group
gatherings;
* Follow CDC guidelines on sending employees home
if they exhibit any symptoms of the virus;
* Set up for alternative meal services /
deliveries for those communities that provide food;
* Management office staff should be available only
by appointment. Provide a symptoms checklist for staff to ask residents
questions prior to entering office space. Maintain social distancing if a
meeting does take place and sanitize all spaces, including pens, before and
after each meeting;
* Restrict visitors when possible. Ask to not
enter if they have or had any symptoms in the last 24 hours or had contact with
anyone who may be contagious or have been confirmed to be positive for the
virus;
* Disinfect all common area touch points on a continual
basis;
* Implement emergency service request only policy.
Define for your team what is an emergency –
o
No hot water
o
No heat
o
No electricity
o
Water Leak
o
Refrigerator not working
o
Range not functioning
o
Backed up drain or toilet (for studio or one
bedroom)
o
Life safety equipment malfunction
o
Unsecured apartment
o
Lock out
o
Health and Safety related issue
* Only allow vendors to complete emergency and
essential work within the apartment homes and common areas;
* Create a list of secondary work duties to
complete – including, but not limited to, grounds clean up, common area repairs
and cleaning, vacant unit preparation, online trainings etc.;
* All staff should use appropriate PPE for tasks
including rent and paperwork handling;
* Consider having non-essential employees work
from home or consider adjusting reporting hours to limit the number of people
in any one space;
* Consider revising PTO / sick time policy to
adjust if necessary;
* Create contingency plan if team members are
unable to report to work;
* Cross train staff positions;
* Create a symptoms questionnaire to determine if
a resident / employee has symptoms and had tested positive;
* Practice social distancing and avoid hand
shaking;
* Notify your local health department and CDC if a
“positive” test is identified within the community, however, due to privacy
laws do not identify any infected individual to the other residents.
Management companies generally have an emergency
preparedness plan in place, but now will need to create a section for handling
pandemics. Human Resource departments
must update plans for flex time, shift schedules, working remotely, paid time
off and sick time policies.
Managing
virtual workers has its own challenges. IT
departments will have expanded assignments to equip team members with equipment
to work remotely but it’s not as easy as just grabbing a laptop and working
from the sofa. Residents will be asked to make on-line rental payments and
maintenance requests. Leasing may have
to be on-line only.
Housing authorities are asking owners and managers to work
with residents who may face eviction for non-payment of April rents due to
Corona Virus illness or reduced income due to business closures. Consider allowing payment plans, accepting
partial payments and waiving late fees.
HUD has published a new guide for public and affordable
housing entities. It suggests postponed
physical inspections and to proceed with file reviews using
electronically-secure upload options for submissions. Draw requests and payments will be processed
as usual but there may be some extended timelines due to social distancing and
working from home. Scheduled evictions
unrelated to issues of life safety should be postponed stating displacement of
residents can lead to a greater risk of exposure for those displaced, as well
as a greater possibility of transmission of the virus.
As we await measures to support those who
have lost wages and will experience economic instability due to COVID-19, please
work to preserve tenancy as much as possible.
Check with your state housing authorities for updates on
reviews, audits, monitoring and inspections. Join those of us at Occupancy Solutions in taking an active
role in preventing the spread of infection by following the expert guidance
from these organizations.
Resources:
World Health Organization WHO.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019
for rolling updates on the virus, workplace readiness, basic protective
measures and press briefings;
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention CDC.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html for information for businesses, interim
guidance and FAQs about the virus;
National Apartment Association NAAHQ.org/education-careers/online-learning/webinars/coronavirus-outbreak;
National Multi Housing Council NMHC.org for suggested procedure for
dealing with self-quarantining residents;
HUD guideline https://www.hud.gov/coronavirus
Institute of Real Estate Management IREM.org/learning/coronavirus
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Close the Back Door: Solutions for Retaining Residents in Multifamily Communities