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August 21, 2020Harmony Communities president and founder, Matthew Davies, recently contributed articles to two national publications discussing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the affordable housing industry and proposing solutions.
“In the coming weeks, the affordable-housing industry will be hit with the perfect storm,” Davies tells Rental Housing Journal. As unemployment benefits provided under the CARES act are being replaced by an executive memorandum which trims the benefits by one-third, and eviction moratoriums are set to expire in many places across the country, owners and operators of affordable housing also find it difficult to keep their businesses in operation.
Davies proposes a comprehensive approach that includes the following:
- When necessary, landlords should consider negotiating with tenants, offering alternative payment solutions such as rental assistance, temporary rent subsidies, or rent payback plans.
- Banks, lenders, municipalities, and utilities can help by extending financial assistance to owners and operators of affordable housing.
- State and local government leaders can encourage the development of affordable housing closer to population centers by furthering policies that grant more permissive zoning, require less red tape, and promote the creative use of the available land to accommodate more families in less space, such as tiny home communities and high-rise apartment buildings.
“To protect our industry and safeguard low-income housing during our current economic climate requires a multi-faceted solution,” Davies writes in Property Manager Insider. “By employing creative and innovative solutions to increase the affordable housing supply and share the financial burden, we stand a chance.”
