Boston – WinnCompanies announced it is launching a Housing Stability Program designed to cut eviction rates in half across the company’s owned and managed national apartment portfolio during the next five years, starting with a 25% reduction in 2021.
The initiative will support 160,000 individuals living in 600 residential communities owned or managed by the company’s property management arm, WinnResidential, in 16 states and Washington, DC. WinnResidential operates 61,000 apartments in Arizona, California, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Virginia.
Developed by an internal task force created in January 2020, WinnCompanies’ Housing Stability Program focuses on four innovative strategies designed to remove barriers to housing stability, especially among renters living in affordable and mixed-income apartment communities. The program:
- Dramatically strengthens resident education and outreach so that every household, regardless of their circumstances, understands the resources available to them through public and private programs at the local, state and federal levels should they need it;
- Coordinates pro-active early intervention for at-risk households as soon as they report they are experiencing financial difficulty;
- Pursues achievable, affordable and sustainable payment agreements with struggling households, as well as providing hands-on help accessing emergency rental assistance; and,
- Provides incentives and accountability to property management staff and legal counsel to set and reach strategic housing stabilization goals that lower eviction filing rates in each community the company serves.
Approximately 1,600 WinnResidential property management and resident services staff across the nation, as well as hundreds of private attorneys who handle eviction cases for the company in various states, are being trained to implement the new program in the weeks ahead. The company’s goal is to implement the initiative by the end of March in its own properties and those of participating clients.
WinnCompanies voluntarily halted tenant evictions in July 2020 for residents who could certify virus-related financial hardship under federal and state guidelines and who entered into payment plan agreements based on their rent obligations and household situations.
