Dealing with Households

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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, problem. Residents' belongings frequently spill out into public hallways, stairwells, and breezeways, which can create a fire or safety hazard, downgrade the appearance of the property, and violate local health, safety, and building codes.

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 Hoarders, is not a television drama or movie of the week. It's a reality series airing on A&E that offers a gripping view into the lives of compulsive hoarders, and the impact that their illnesses have had on their lives and their families' lives.

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 fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms. And in more than half (53 percent) of the home fires in which smoke alarms were present but did not operate, the batteries were missing or disconnected.

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-fourths (73 percent) of home-heating fire deaths.

To keep your residents safe this winter, it's a good idea to share with them a few safety guidelines for using space heaters. Include these tips in your community newsletter, in a resident memo, and on common area bulletin boards.

America's elderly population is growing at a fast pace, and almost a third of those 65 and older are living alone, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Is your site prepared to meet the specific needs of your elderly residents?

Accidents in the home are a major source of injuries, which puts safety concerns at the top of the list for elderly residents and their families. Slips and falls are the most common accident-related hazards, says affordable housing risk management consultant Gwen Zander.

Q I spend quite a lot of time signing out keys when students come home. Some have forgotten their keys, others have left them at school, others say that their parent is usually at home, etc. Is there some type of “latch-key child” form or lease addendum that I could use to advise residents of this problem, and require them to make sure that their children have keys to enter their units so that they are not depending on me for keys on a daily basis?

According to the 2000 census, approximately 25 million adults living in the United States depend on friends and family members to translate everything from food labels to rental leases. Language issues have created considerable challenges for low-income housing site managers to ensure that residents and prospects clearly understand applications, leases, and other crucial residential forms.

It has become increasingly common to hear about residents suing owners, claiming that they were injured by the presence of mold in their units. Exposure to certain molds or fungus has been linked to a number of ailments, including asthma, headaches, and skin rashes.

Like many owners or managers of tax credit sites, you probably let residents keep a pet, as long they obtain your prior approval and sign an agreement about the pet. But what should you do when you discover that a resident is keeping an unauthorized pet? You may not want to evict the resident or require him to get rid of the pet. But you want to make sure that residents who have been keeping unauthorized pets know that you are serious about enforcing your pre-approval policy.

As a site owner or manager, you are required by federal Fair Housing law to do what is reasonable in granting requests for accommodations or modifications, so that a visually impaired applicant might consider residing at your site. Furthermore, you are under a legal obligation to ensure that a visually impaired resident has the same “full use and enjoyment” of the site as a resident who is not disabled. Each visually impaired applicant or resident will have different needs that you must address.