Strategy to Minimize Void Loss Co-operation with Residents - Essay Example

College STRATEGY TO MINIMIZE VOID LOSS CO-OPERATION WITH RESIDENTS Aims of the strategy The aim of this strategy is to come up with ways in which void loss will be minimized with co-operation of the residents. The income for houses is mainly is mainly from rents, it is therefore important to ensure that standard procedures are in place to reduce the length of time that a property is empty, therefore minimizing the amount of rental income loss. The aims of this strategy also include effective ways and policies that will encourage residents to continue occupying the property and paying their rent in full and in time. The strategy will also aim in minimizing rent loss through reducing length of the void period and void repair costs; set in place systems to monitor the standards of void properties and resident satisfaction with their new homes. The strategy will ensure that the residents are aware of their repair responsibilities and end of tenancy obligations. The strategy will be used in conjunction with the most recent housing needs survey and allocations policy to ensure that the property is well used and in such a way that meets local demand in a fair and equitable way. The aims of this strategy will be achieved by collaborating with the residents. Background Rental housing is the main shelter for low-income and middle-income earners. This is due to the fact that buying a home or a house is very expensive and beyond the reach of such people in the society. This therefore makes such people to live in affordable rental houses which they can pay at the end of the month or the period agreed between the resident/tenant and the owner of the property which is the house. Here are a number of factors which contribute to tenants or residents leaving the building and moving to another building to seek shelter. This leads to the property being empty and therefore losses are incurred due to lack of rental income. The recent economic downturn in the past few years has shown that many people are moving from home ownership to renting houses. This has been as a result of several factors such as: low income, increased rate of unemployment, inflation and hard economic times. A good example is the American economic situation which resulted in horrific consequences for the mortgage industry. According to Rebecca Cohen, Keith Wardrip, and Laura Williams in their article, Rental Housing Affordability – A Review of Current Research, the drastic increase in renters in American society has resulted in 21.3 million more renters between the years of 2004 to 2007. This has led to the need for sufficient rental properties. Minimizing void loss is very critical to Housing co-operatives so that they can be able to offer quality and affordable housing. This strategic plan is therefore aimed at minimizing such losses SOLUTIONS The following are solutions on how to minimize void loss with co-operation with the residents. Death of a resident The house can be vacant due to the death of a resident who was in charge of paying rent. It is very difficult or impossible to forecast the death of co-operative member. The housing co-operative should therefore keep contacts and addresses of potential persons who are looking for houses so that incase a member of the co-operative dies, they can rent the house immediately. This will prevent the house from being vacant and therefore void loss will be highly minimized. Transfer of tenants Tenants can transfer from one housing co-operative to another at their own free will. The tenant should therefore be informed that if they want to transfer to a different housing co-operative, then they should notify the housing co-operative so that another resident will be identified to move into the apartment. This will minimize void loss since the property will not be left vacant over a long period of time. In order to achieve this, it is very important for the housing co-operative to work with the residents. Abandonment It is possible for a tenant to vacate a property without notifying the housing co-operative. This will lead to the house being vacant and there will be no rental income from the property leading to void loss immediately. To overcome this challenge, the housing co-operative should make it compulsory for tenants to sign a document which acknowledges that if a resident abandons a property, they will lose all rights regarding possession of the property and they are to pay a fine of a given amount as compensation. Eviction Evictions are very common in the rental housing community. This normally happens when a tenant is unwilling to pay rent or is unable to pay rent because of various reasons. Eviction is a factor which highly contributes to void loss. A solution to this problem is by checking the previous and current history of the tenant in terms of rent payment. These can also be solved by knowing the tenants source of income and the amount of income so that the co-operative can be able to determine if the tenant is able to pay rent or not. It is also possible for the housing co-operative to come up with alternative potential ways to re-negotiate a tenant’s rent charge for a short period of time if they meet particular guidelines to qualify them for this service. These guidelines would include a temporary loss of wages due to injury, illness, unpaid or delayed time for payments, recovery from maternity leave or surgery and unforeseen crisis situation such as a financial strife that can involve a car accident, hospital visit or other unexpected financial burden. . While there is still a margin of void loss with this proposed solution, it provides for the greater good of not having the property sit vacant and also forgoes the legal fees an association will obtain by seeking legal action to effectively force an eviction upon a resident. Development Voids These are situations in which there is acquisition of a new residential property or a residential property is given to given to a housing co-operative. This is very important benefit to the housing co-operative as it will increase the amount of rental income. In order to minimize void loss, it is important for the housing co-operative to have a number of potential tenants who are willing to move to the newly acquired property and they are also able to pay the rent. The housing co-operatives also need to have policies which will only allow them to acquire new properties if they have an existing renter or they have a waiting list of potential persons who can move in to the new property with immediate effect. Such policies will minimize void loss as the newly acquired properties will not be vacant. Decants This is a situation which arises when a resident has to move temporarily for a given period of time. This can be due to natural disasters such as floods, tornado or even hurricanes. It is very hard to tackle void loss with respect to decant because these are disasters that are not planned for or they cannot be forecast. A proposal for allowing organizations to create this emergency fund, residents can band together and attempt to host street dances, block parties or barbeques to raise money from community members. This avenue has a dual benefit. First, these events will help a residential housing organization create a sense of community in a scenario where closeness is often difficult to capture. Along with this sense of unity within a rental community, the additional benefit is that any money raised can be put into an account that can be utilized by tenants in need, upon approval from a housing board. Before hosting one of these events, residents can have a meeting and sign a disclosure form acknowledging that they understand that the money raised may be used for them or one of their fellow residents. AIMS The following are the aims of the strategy in details. Improve housing standards The aim of this strategy is to improve the housing standards that the housing co-operative offers. By improving the housing standards, the residents will have a comfortable life within the properties of the housing co-operatives and this will encourage them to continue occupying the property. This will therefore reduce void loss since the properties will not be left vacant at any point. Improving housing standards include providing an environment which is conducive to the residents. This is by providing them with clean water, enough security, social amenities and affordable rental rates. Improved services The aim of this strategy is to enable to housing co-operative to come up with ways of improving service delivery to the residents. These services include collection of rent, repair of the houses and renovations. These services should be appreciated by the residents and the residents should also feel that they are not being harassed by the housing co-operative. The housing co-operative should also provide services in a fair manner to all the residents and the residents should receive equal treatment. Action plan The action plan includes the steps and ways in which the strategy will be applied by the housing co-operative. The first step is to carry out an inspection. Inspection is a very vital element of void minimization. A number of inspections will be carried out. These will include the following; Pre-termination inspection when the termination is initially received. This will allow staff members to check whether the resident is willing to allow prospective members to view the property prior to their departure, and enable arrangements to be made which can considerably reduce the void re-letting period. End of term inspection will also be done prior to the end of tenancy to ensure that the property has been left in a satisfactory condition prior to the end of the tenant’s departure. This will enable the housing co-operative to charge the tenant for any damages on the property and the required renovations to take place before the new tenant arrives. The plan also involves good communication between the residents and the staff of the housing co-operatives. It is essential that staff to keep themselves informed of the progress of the strategy throughout the void period. Procedures, with timescales and areas of responsibility are also in place to ensure that the aims of the strategy are achieved. Part of the plan includes getting feedback of new members’ satisfaction with the property and void service through the housing co-operative questionnaires. The answers and comment for the questionnaires and also the complaints are to be monitored. As part of the plan, the staffs of the housing co-operative will undergo training on how to come up with solutions and other important ideas to minimize void loss. Conclusion Upon developing a strategic plan to combat the seven factors that can attribute to void loss, it is clear that for success in dealing with these areas, residents and co-operative housing boards need to work together. By developing policies that support both a housing unit and the tenants, this strategic plan aims to create scenarios where all involved feel that there is a benefit for all. This environment creates living situations where people feel comfortable and safe when rental properties do not always give off that impression. Through following, polices and ideas brought forth in this strategic plan, housing properties can minimize void loss while creating an environment where tenants feel valued and worthwhile. Works Cited Balchin, P. & Rhoden, M. (2002) Housing Policy: An Introduction to the Public Process. Routledge. Hudson, J., & Lowe, S. (2009) Understanding the Policy Process. The Policy Press. Lund, B. (2006). Understanding Housing Policy, Bristol. The Policy Press. Mullins, D. & Murie, A. (2006) Housing Policy in the UK, Basingstroke. Palgrave Macmillan. Revisiting Rental Housing: Observations from a National Summit, Joint Center for Housing Students at Harvard University. 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