Spend time with professionals from the affordable housing space and public housing agencies and you’ll likely hear a timely HUD topic brought up in conversation: HOTMA. It’s a buzz that has many public housing agencies and affordable housing providers asking questions and perhaps feeling concerned about how they will manage to implement new compliance mandates. We met up with Gabrielle Van Horn, Yardi PHA director and Dave Kessler, Yardi vice president of affordable housing, to learn more about HOTMA and what it means for PHAs and affordable housing organizations. They also provide insight on Yardi’s plans to accommodate new compliance mandates that will affect households as they qualify for housing units. Q: First, tell us what HOTMA stands for? Gabrielle: HOTMA is an acronym for the Housing Opportunity through Modernization Act. It was signed into law in July 2016 and goes into full effect on January 1, 2024. Q: What is Congress asking HUD to achieve by implementing HOTMA? Dave: HOTMA is an opportunity for HUD to standardize the way affordable housing programs calculate income. For example, in the past, a household’s calculated income would vary depending on the applicable affordable housing program. Now, with HOTMA, it’s less confusing for housing providers because it standardizes the deductions and exemptions that factor into making a final determination of a household’s income. Gabrielle: Factors such as deductions from income for households with seniors are not only being recalculated, but also standardized across certain programs. That’s good news for programs affected by HOTMA. Q: What should affordable housing providers be working on now to prepare for upcoming changes? Gabrielle: Like anything with HUD, there are aspects of HOTMA that may be a challenge to comprehend and implement. There is a lot to learn and prepare for as the January deadline approaches. Dave: Yardi, as well as other affordable housing and PHA software vendors, is updating our technology to accommodate changes required by HOTMA. We’ll have online coursework for our clients to make sure they remain compliant throughout the process. We are also expecting to soon see HUD’s updates to forms 50058 and 50059, as well as other forms that are directly affected by HOTMA. Once we see those in final format, Yardi will make sure our clients have access to them in our software and that the data fields and calculation formulas are adjusted for HOTMA compliance. Gabrielle: I also want to express that training organizations and nonprofit affordable housing advocacy groups are the best resources for learning about HOMTA. I follow NAHRO’s blog and social media posts for up-to-date information on HOMTA, including training resources they’ve been sponsoring. I recommend this type of training for affordable housing providers and PHAs, and that they get started as soon as possible. Q: What would be an example of an upcoming change? Gabrielle: One that’s sure to help many is the increased income deductions for seniors. Increasing those deductions will make it easier for households to qualify for a unit. It makes sense to make that adjustment now, especially as inflation has increased expenses. Dave: Yes, I’m not sure if HUD expected the pandemic and its residual effects in terms of wage increases when they passed HOTMA in 2016. However, the timing is perfect as it will help households qualify for needed housing resources even as their income may have risen due to high inflation rates over the past few years. Q: How will Yardi software adapt to HOTMA? Dave: We are actively working on updates to Yardi Voyager and Breeze Premier as well as RentCafe, our portal solution for applicants, renters, and private landlords. We’re focused on having that technology ready when our clients are required to adopt HOTMA standards. Gabrielle: We’ve also made additional support staff available so that our clients can get help with Yardi software. But, again, learning HOTMA regulations and compliance mandates is best done with training resources such...
Section 8 Challenges
Solving Voucher Concerns
Most housing assistance available through the Section 8 program is in the form of vouchers. Officially titled Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV), these monthly rent supplements are available to millions of qualified households across the United States to the elderly or who earn very low income in comparison with the median of their community. Jeff Bischoff Households who receive HCV’s may find an apartment they like, sign a lease for whatever the market rate is for that unit, and then pay a portion of the rent on their own. The remainder of the rent, up to a certain amount based on local market conditions, is paid to the landlord via the voucher supplement. HCVs are a great way to disperse renters throughout various parts of the community because they aren’t location based. They can be used to supplement rent payments in any unit that will accept the compliance mandates of the program. Therein lies the main challenge of the HCV program: getting more landlords to choose to rent to households who intend to use a voucher as part of their monthly rent payment. Work to solve this challenge is ongoing. Public housing agencies across the country are using strategies for their local landlords with varying degrees of success. Jeff Bischoff, Yardi’s Senior Director of PHA sales recently spoke about the topic. Read on to hear his thoughts on the challenges of HCVs, and some of the ways his clients are solving them. Tell us what you are hearing from clients about why landlords don’t choose to participate in the HCV program. Bischoff: Landlords seems to be concerned with potential delays in contracting and rent collection. Like every other industry, owners and property managers operate on tight budgets and timeframes. Worrying about losing a month or...
Making Sense of HOTMA
Yardi’s plan for PHAs in 2023
The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) of 2016 brings significant changes to HUD’s public housing program. After years of preparation and implementation processes, public housing agencies across the country are ready to change the way they complete many of their core processes. Yardi is also ready for HOTMA with updates to our PHA Suite in development, as well as a plan to provide hands-on assistance to our clients as we work through HUD’s new program mandates. Gabrielle Van Horn, director of client services for Yardi, recently led an online webinar for Yardi clients walking them through Yardi’s HOTMA strategy. The webinar’s agenda included an overview of HUD changes, notably: Finalization of the Public Housing Over-Income Rule: Section 103 (PIH 2023-3) Final Rule for Sections 102 and 104 HOTMA Implementation Revisions to all 50058 forms Housing Information Portal (HIP), which replaces IMS/PIC National Standard for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate (NSPIRE) Van Horn walked attendees through Yardi’s plan to accommodate these upcoming changes. She also provided a timeline for all Yardi PHA clients who will need to upgrade their software this year, in order to remain compliant with the new HUD rules. Important notes on preparation and training from Gabrielle’s presentation included: Prepare your Board of Commissioners: ACOPs and Admin Plans must be adjusted. These are not optional changes We recommend utilizing training from HUD, industry experts, and industry groups such as NAHRO and PHADA for regulatory guidance An in-person training will be offered at the Yardi Advanced Solutions Conference in San Diego, September 6th – 8th Additional training will be available via online learning and documentation for those unable to attend the conference “This is an all-hands-on-deck process for the PHA client support team over the next few months. We’ve got a plan to help all of our clients to get their software ready for new HUD requirements, and we are allocating resources from within to help make the process as smooth and timely as possible. We’re committed to helping our clients through this process,” said Gabrielle. As a leading provider of PHA software and services, Yardi has access to contacts at HUD to seek clarification and provide feedback on how new rules can be accommodated. Yardi, as well as other vendors, will soon have a private meeting with HUD to discuss particular challenges and to provide advice on implementation strategies. Public housing agencies who are current Yardi clients can log on to Client Central to see Gabrielle’s recorded webinar. Questions submitted during the session, along with answers from Yardi, are also available on Client...
Benefits of e-Signatures...
Many of us have changed the way we go about our daily lives since social distancing efforts began in late 2019. Not only have we rolled with the changes, we’ve embraced them, morphed them into something better, and created new ways to work with each other. A major change affecting affordable housing providers and public housing agencies came in a notice from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2020 by which HUD authorized use of electronic signatures in place of “wet” (i.e. ink) signatures to execute documents for many of its housing subsidy programs. Examples of affected programs include: Project-based Section 8 Rental Assistance Demonstration Project-based Rental Assistance (RAD/PBRA) Section 202 Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contracts (SPRAC) Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC) Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC) Section 811 PRAC and Project Rental Assistance (PRA) Rent Supplement Section 236 (including RAP) Section 221(d)(3)/(d)(5) Below-Market Interest Rate (BMIR). Why are e-signatures a game changer for subsidized housing? Eliminating ink signature requirements save time and money for affordable housing providers and public housing agencies. Rather that dealing with paperwork, these organizations can now set up digital workflows that reduce paper usage and storage costs. Those online workflows can save significant staff hours and create more time to serve residents. E-signatures are more convenient for affordable housing and PHA applicants and residents. They can execute documents when they have a free moment, instead of taking time off work or from childcare to visit an office to sign forms. Audits are also faster, easier and safer with the use of e-signatures. Because workflows are paperless, auditors can monitor files without having to come into an office. Instead, they can access affordable housing and PHA files from a remote workstation to...
Make the Most of MTW
What’s Next for Participating PHAs
Moving To Work (MTW) was a groundbreaking policy moment for HUD in 1996. Through MTW, HUD selected a small group (or cohort) of public housing agencies (PHAs) for the chance to create their own programs using HUD money. Gabrielle Van Horn speaks at NAHRO last month. The only caveat to these MTW programs was the they must accomplish specific goals set by HUD, including: Finding better ways to use federal funds with emphasis on reducing costs and improving effectiveness and availability of servicesHelping households improve economic self-sufficiency through incentives for participation in job training, education or job search activitiesIncreasing the availability and selection of housing resources for low-income households As a Demonstration Program, HUD share successes and challenges that each PHA participating in MTW experiences. So, MTW is not just a chance for PHAs to help their local communities, but also help other PHAs craft programs that may work elsewhere. MTW’s recent expansion is an opportunity for more agencies to participate in creating and testing innovative housing policies that can revolutionize the subsidized housing industry. That makes this a great time to check in with Gabrielle Van Horn, director of PHA support for Yardi, to get her perspective on MTW’s history and future. Gabrielle, tell us about Yardi’s first involvement with MTW. Our experience goes back more than two decades, all the way back to 2000. From the beginning, we’ve had MTW clients working with programs falling under the categories of administrative efficiencies, rent reform, work requirements and incentive programs. Collaboration with our customers in program design and our working experience with HUD programs have helped make our customers’ visions come to life. Yardi is honored to partner with some of the most progressive agencies in the country. About half of the original MTW agencies are Yardi clients, so we were well positioned to work on the expansion phase of MTW. We have clients in each cohort. We took the initiative to engage with them as soon as possible so that we could support their newly designed programs and make sure they could track data for accounting, household demographics, changes in income and other key information. How does Yardi help track control groups? To me, HUD’s requirement of control groups is one of most interesting components of the MTW Expansion guidelines. Control group data can be quite helpful in testing program design. Tracking non-participating households alongside those that are part of MTW designed programs makes it possible to prove the effectiveness of locally designed programs. That proof will go a long way in the future of public policy design. That’s why Yardi has ensured that control group tracking is a key component of our custom programming for MTW Expansion rent reform clients. Can you give us an update on how Yardi is supporting MTW Expansion 50058s? This is a new 50058 form and a new file format. We’ll be using new technology to submit these 50058s to HUD to HIP (Housing Information Portal). We have been testing and providing feedback to HUD since they first opened their original testing site to vendors. As soon as HUD is ready, we’ll have the interfaces in place to submit them electronically. One of the greatest benefits of having a longstanding relationship with HUD is the trust that we are doing our part. That means that our clients feel comfortable and confident knowing we have designed features that will reflect their vision and meet HUD’s compliance requirements. What do you think is the most exciting cohort? I am very excited about the Landlord Incentives cohort. Finding ways to make the program more appealing to landlords is critical to the future of the Housing Choice Voucher program. Are you prepared for the next MTW cohort? Yes. We have a team of programmers and support staff ready for the next programs that come from our clients. But, here’s an even better question: is the next...
Key KPI in LA
HACLA Supports Students
Yardi is proud to support the community outreach of clients like the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). Their non-profit Kids Progress, Inc. (KPI), supports social service programs that enhance quality of life and ensure long-term academic and economic success for residents in HACLA’s public housing developments. Founded in 2002, five core components of KPI’s work include the promotion of workforce development and lifelong learning, education and youth development, health and wellness, safety and security, and civic engagement. The KPI Scholarship program is designed to support the youth living in HACLA’s public housing developments who are heading to college. “We recognize that college is an important tool for financial and social mobility, not only for the youth themselves but for their families as well,” said Jennifer Thomas Arthurs, vice president of KPI and deputy assistant director of strategic initiatives for HACLA. “Yardi has been a long-time partner and supporter of HACLA with its software services as well as through the Section 3 program.” The scholarship program supports and celebrates graduating seniors from HACLA’s Section 8 program and public housing sites who are transitioning to college. This is the first year that Yardi funded scholarships for the program, providing scholarships for three rising college freshmen. The selected scholars, who all live in public housing, will be attending UC Merced, UC Irvine, and Cal Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Students selected for awards must have a minimum of 2.5 GPA, be active in community service and enrichment activities and submit letters of recommendation as well as essays. The program provides a one-time scholarship to high school seniors who are going to attend either trade/vocational school, 2-year colleges and 4-year colleges. Since 2013, the program has awarded a total of $172,000 in scholarship...
Getting the Job Done
Hagerstown Thrives While Distant
Public housing agencies across the country are open for business, even when their physical offices are closed. Their services and resources are literally vital to the health, safety and welfare of millions of Americans. How do they make it work? Hagerstown Housing Authority (HHA), which serves the city of Hagerstown in Maryland, uses specialized software solutions from Yardi that connect their staff to critical workflows that serve waitlisted households, applicants, participants and residents, and landlords. “The coronavirus is an awful situation, of course, but it has given us an opportunity to help our staff realize the benefits of cloud-based software, as well as online solutions for our applicants and residents,” says Sean Griffith, executive director for HHA. HHA has been serving its residents for more than 65 years. As a high-performing housing authority, as distinguished by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, HHA owns and/or oversees 1,320 dwelling units in 11 communities and more than 900 Housing Choice Vouchers for use by residents who do not dwell in HHA-owned properties. Approximately 12% of the city’s residents are assisted by HHA housing resources. The waiting list for housing assistance from HHA grows daily as economic variables affect local residents. “There has been a definite uptick in need for housing assistance. Our properties are in demand, and the waiting list for Housing Choice Vouchers is growing,” says Griffith. Using RentCafe PHA, HHA makes it possible for interested households to place themselves on its waiting list. The process is handled completely online without the need for an office visit. That feature is particularly timely for HHA given the circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency went live with the Yardi PHA suite in the spring of 2019 and considers cloud functionality one of the...
How PHAs Simplify and Save
Changing workflows for the better
Public housing agencies are among the busiest organizations in the residential property management industry. There’s a lot going on. Most PHAs have thousands of names on their waiting lists. As names come up for consideration, staff faces hours of detailed work to ensure that that applicants qualify for housing assistance. Once applicants become residents, PHAs and the private landlords participating in their programs are responsible for all the normal property management duties associated with multifamily housing. To top it all off, PHAs are required to continuously report to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as other state and local government offices, for compliance purposes. Luckily, there’s an app for PHAs that streamlines each of these workflows. RentCafe PHA is a unique solution available only to Yardi clients. By modernizing the way PHAs work with stakeholders, most every stakeholder group benefits. Here’s how. Prospects: RentCafe PHA simplifies how an agency can open its waiting list for new names. The typical frenzy of activity that happens when an agency accepts new names is mitigated since people can join a waiting list online, and without having to turn in a stack of paperwork. RentCafe PHA even offers automated solutions for agencies to periodically purge their waiting list without the need to mail thousands of notices and enter data returned in the mail. Instead, waitlisted households receive an electronic notice that it’s time to confirm their waiting list status. They can simply go online to quickly save their spot on the waiting list or opt out of consideration for assistance. Applicants: Nearly 800 housing applications were created in RentCafe PHA every day in 2019. And contrary to traditional methods of applying for housing, applications in RentCafe PHA are paperless. That’s nearly 300,000 stacks of paper potentially saved in 2019 alone. Another break from tradition is that applicants can work on their submissions when it fits their schedule. There’s no need to set an appointment during PHA office hours. In 2019, 42% of applications were completed after 5 p.m. and before 8 a.m. The convenience of 24/7 access from any connected device saves applicants from visiting the PHA during office hours, a bonus for both applicants and PHA staff. Landlords: Most any rental unit in town can be part of a public housing agency program if the landlord accepts PHA vouchers to supplement rent paid by the resident. Private landlords who decide to participate require access to forms to report back to the PHA on activities such as rent collected, maintenance work completed, move-outs, etc. With RentCafe PHA, landlords can do this work from their private computers or handheld devices. There’s no need to mail or fax paperwork to the agency, which saves a lot of time and money. Residents: Modern multifamily housing providers offer residents the ability to go online to pay rent, make repair requests, schedule inspections and more. PHAs are no different. Households that qualify for housing with RentCafe PHA continue to use the solution once they move into a unit. It’s simply a matter of adding resident functions to their already existing RentCafe PHA profile. Compliance staff: Every resident and participant in a PHA housing program must qualify for assistance. There’s a lot of work involved, and a lot of personal data that must be collected, submitted and verified. RentCafe PHA makes compliance easier and faster by connecting PHA staff with applicants and residents. Households can securely submit their data online, as well as images of backup documentation, directly to PHA compliance workers. Insecure and inefficient methods such as photocopying legal documents and storing private personal information in file cabinets are taken out of the process. Staff can even use RentCafe PHA to securely communicate with applicant employers, schools and former landlords to verify the accuracy of submitted information. Learn more about RentCafe PHA by downloading Five Steps to Revolutionize PHA Applications & Compliance Workflows, a...
HUD Holidays
Yardi Fetes Forms
Who doesn’t enjoy back-to-back holidays, even if they are unknown outside of those who work on affordable housing? The Yardi PHA and Affordable Housing teams in Santa Barbara are furthering the trend of personalized holidays this week. The subject of their celebration? HUD forms 50058 and 50059. Forms 50058 and 50059 are often abbreviated to 58 and 59, which makes May 8th and 9th the appropriate calendar days to celebrate. But what are these forms anyway? In a nutshell, 50058 and 50059 are forms used by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) uses to certify eligibility for housing assistance. And, since HUD is involved, they are quite complicated. So why celebrate them? “Our 5/8 and 5/9 days are a chance to recognize the great work of our PHA and Affordable Housing teams. Sure, numbers from the form are a bit strange to celebrate. Nonetheless, it is a perfect chance to take a couple of days to have some fun,” said Gabrielle Van Horn, director of PHA support for Yardi. Will 5/8 and 5/9 become reoccurring holidays? Check back next year to find out. In the meantime, take a moment to appreciate the resources created by PHAs and affordable housing providers in your community. What better way to celebrate?...
Save My Spot
Modernizing the PHA Wait List
Demand for public housing assistance far outweighs the available supply in nearly every community nationwide, but the challenges can be especially great in California. The Housing Authority of San Luis Obispo (HASLO) and the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara (HACSB) are prime examples of public housing agencies challenged with creating housing opportunities for low-income residents. There is never a slow work day for HASLO or HACSB, and the mere opportunity to join a housing assistance waiting list can create a frenzy of activity. “The vitality of every community is dependent on housing that is attainable for all income levels, and public housing agencies add incredible value to the regions they serve. The magnitude of their waiting lists, nationwide, is a great demonstration of the scarcity and value of affordable housing,” said Boone Atkins, vice president of affordable housing and PHA sales for Yardi. A PHA waiting list includes households seeking public housing units, housing choice vouchers and affordable housing. Given the local market conditions, those lists would grow daily if the HASLO and HACSB kept lists open to new names permanently. However, closing waiting lists to new households is just one way to keep the lists under control. Another way to maintain PHA waiting lists is periodically purging the names of households who are no longer seeking assistance. Purging PHA waiting lists has historically been a labor intensive process requiring envelope stuffing and data entry. PHAs also incurred costs for postage and paper to facilitate mailing forms to thousands of waitlisted households. RENTCafé PHA, and its embedded Save My Spot waitlist management feature, can mitigate those costs. Yardi is the only PHA software provider offering a modernized waitlist management solution, bringing relief to a longstanding industry issue. A Primer on RentCafe...
Pluses of Plugins
Affordable Housing Insight
Just what is a plugin anyway? How is it different from a patch? Or a full version update? The somewhat frustrating truth for most of us is that software is one of the few products we use that doesn’t seem ever be ‘done’. With all of the different types of software we depend on every day, it’s common for users to experience confusion, frustration and fatigue when it comes to software updates. Operating systems for smartphones, tablets and computers are constantly updating themselves with security fixes and new features. Every day it seems we get notices on our phones that app updates are ready to be downloaded and installed. Software that supports a team of professionals, such as Yardi property management software, is a good example of why updates are extremely valuable for users. Software updates address security risks, solve coding bugs and prevent unplanned downtime. Think of it this way: if your organization has developed an internal workaround to address a problem, and you haven’t updated your plugins lately, then it’s likely that problem (and perhaps others) has an official fix from Yardi ready to download and install. Laurie Swertfager from AJB Consulting talked about software updates at the Yardi Affordable Housing and PHA Forum in Atlanta. Laurie is an affordable housing consultant with extensive expertise in compliance, finance and technology. “My clients sometimes lament that little things they are looking for aren’t available in Voyager. In those cases, my first step is to see if they are up to date on their plugins. Chances are they have not, and often the uninstalled plugins have exactly what they are looking for.” says Swertfager. “Some clients work under the guise of ‘if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it,” says Dave Kessler, vice president...
Cutting Costs
Online Affordable Housing Apps
Submitting an application for affordable housing is a daunting challenge. Tax returns, paycheck stubs and bank statements are just the beginning of what applicants must provide to qualify for a unit. Proof of eligibility for housing assistance is a must since public funds often support rents below market rate. Federal, state and local housing agencies have policies and procedures in place that ensure affordable housing resources only serve qualified residents. In the past, affordable housing providers kept files with thick stacks of paper as proof of each resident’s eligibility status. Providers also keep similar files for denied applicants to document why a household was determined ineligible for housing assistance. Affordable housing providers are taking a modern approach to minimize paperwork and staff hours necessary to qualify residents. With online applications, providers are not saving administrative costs, but also better documenting their resident files and boosting compliance with fair housing regulations. Rather than handing applicants a stack of forms to fill out, housing specialists can now direct applicants to an online portal to submit everything needed to qualify for a unit. RentCafe Affordable Housing from Yardi makes this possible, and it’s becoming more and more common throughout the industry. Just how big is the RentCafe Affordable Housing trend? More than 100,000 housing applications have been created online since the product launched in 2016. That’s more than 6,000 per month, and the numbers are growing every day. “Affordable housing applications have evolved from cumbersome, paper-based hassles into easy, online workflows. Applicants can submit documentation from their home computer or mobile device. That freedom saves applicants from taking time off work to come into the office for a lengthy in-person interview,” said Dave Kessler, vice president of affordable housing and PHA at Yardi. “If you consider it...
Save My Spot
How to Solve PHA Waiting Lists
Fairness and transparency are essential to every decision a public housing agency makes to determine which households receive housing assistance. Waiting lists, though often loathed by potential residents, are an important piece of keeping that process transparent. PHAs follow complicated rules set by the department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to maintain waiting lists, which includes information like household income, veteran status, age, disabilities, and more. Depending on regional circumstances, it could be years before an applicant will be considered for housing assistance. PHAs typically open waiting lists to applicants for relatively short windows, since they could quickly become unmanageable if left open in perpetuity. To make waiting lists more manageable, PHAs periodically correspond with households to confirm their interest in remaining on the waiting lists for public housing or voucher assistance. Without routine maintenance, waiting lists would be perpetually clogged with households that have had a change in status, which may affect their eligibility, or are no longer interested in that particular waiting list. As important as waiting list maintenance is, it is also costly. PHAs have historically spent significant time and money on staffing, forms, and postage to keep waiting lists updated. Yardi PHA clients can now take advantage of a cost-cutting solution. It’s called Save My Spot, and it is a new standard feature of RentCafe PHA. Yardi is the only PHA software provider offering a modernized waitlist management solution, bringing relief to a longstanding industry issue. A RentCafe PHA Primer RentCafe PHA gives public housing and voucher applicants, residents and participants, and landlords online access to communicate with their local PHA, without having to visit the agency’s office. Households can sign up for a waiting list, submit applications, complete eligibility forms, upload documentation and more, all from a personal...
Boone Atkins
Yardi Leadership Series
Currently serving as Yardi Vice President of PHA and Affordable Housing Sales, Boone Atkins also spent decades as a Yardi user. With more than 22 years of experience in the real estate industry, Yardi gained a valuable asset when Boone shifted from a client into a leadership position in December 2014. “I met Anant Yardi in the early 90’s when I began working as a consultant and in executive positions for companies using Yardi software. From a client and employee perspective, my impression of the Yardi company has never changed. Yardi is truly dedicated to the mission of helping clients and employees succeed and grow,” said Boone. Atkins sees trends in the affordable housing and PHA industry as similar to market rate multifamily housing. “Our affordable and PHA clients want technology to help them become more efficient. No matter the industry vertical, it is all about getting the biggest bang for their buck.” Read on for more insight from Boone Atkins in our latest installment of the Yardi Leadership Series. When did you join the Yardi team? Atkins: My shift from Yardi client to employee happened in December 2012. In total, have more than 22 years of experience in the real estate industry. My current base of operations is Denver, but I’m on the road a lot with clients and staff. Did your impression of Yardi change once you became an employee? Absolutely not! This company is dedicated to the mission of helping clients and employees succeed and grow, and that’s never wavered in all my years associated with Yardi. How does Yardi help affordable and PHA clients become more efficient through technology? Atkins: We’re delivering on that expectation by automating and streamlining workflows for affordable housing compliance, ad hoc reporting, dashboard analytics, business...
Smoke-Free PHA
In Philadelphia
Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is the most recent addition to the growing list of public housing organizations to ban smoking. Dozens of public housing authorities throughout the US, as well as private companies, have initiated smoking bans for residential units, common spaces, and offices. The policies are prompted by financial and health concerns. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that states could save $500 million per year by implementing a ban on smoking. By eliminating smoking on the premises, owners could save on the costs of cigarette-related fires, building renovations, and states could save on health care expenses related to smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. In separate studies, the CDC estimates that 44 million American adults smoke cigarettes, exposing them to the nation’s leading cause of preventable death. The habit can cause rheumatoid arthritis, colorectal cancer, and diabetes in addition to exacerbating asthma, respiratory diseases, and cardiovascular diseases. Secondhand smoke adversely affects the growth of children and the health of seniors. Last week, PHA became the largest housing authority to adopt a smoke-free policy. The authority’s 80,000 residents will be under a smoking ban beginning August 5, 2015. Current residents are not expected to quit cold turkey, nor will residents face eviction if they are found in violation of the band. Instead, the housing organization, with support from Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has designated $100,000 for cessation programs to help residents with compliance. After nine months with this format, PHA will assess data collected on existing residents regarding their violations and participation in cessation classes. How that data will be used is unknown. Leases signed after August 5, as well as select rehabilitated units, will be subject to termination after the fourth violation of the smoking ban....
