Renting to Incoming Refugees

[Eduardo Esquivel]

Hello all,

I’m a new landlord with just one property so far. My wife and I took the DIY route and are currently renting to friends while looking toward our next property. I have big dreams to expand my portfolio in the next couple years, but I’m still getting money together for my next purchase.

All that said, I’m actually reaching out for my day job (gotta pay the bills while you’re starting up!). I’m a housing specialist at a refugee services organization based in the Philadelphia metro. We have been building relationships with area landlords for years now to house newly arrived refugees while providing supportive case management and housing liaison services to ensure that refugees who are placed are respectful tenants and good community members. We provide a varying amount of rental assistance, between 3 and 6 months on average, as people are settling and getting employment.

Due to the current housing backups caused by the eviction moratorium and all the uncertainty that’s brought, some of the landlords we’ve partnered with have gotten more cautious and antsy recently. It’s been difficult to have an open dialogue about their concerns.

We’re trying to figure out what kinds of services, guarantees, etc. would help landlords to feel safe in partnering with us to rent to our incoming clients in these very uncertain times. Our clients are wonderful, respectful, boot-strapping survivors who have powered through every challenge in front of them--there’s no other way for people to make it through the refugee system.

I’m hoping that folks here might be able to give me a sense of what questions they might have and what would make them feel secure in partnering with such a program.

Thank you in advance,

Ed

[Charles Carillo]

@Eduardo Esquivel

I have rented to clients of social programs pre-COVID and the organization guaranteed a security deposit and performed a detailed background check if there was damage to the unit after they moved out and never had a problem.

Most landlords are looking for a tenant that will; not damage the property, pay their rent on time (have a job) and not bother other tenants.

During COVID most landlords are unable to evict tenants for non-payment which makes the application and tenant underwriting process much more in-depth since mistakes during underwriting could cost a landlord lost rent for 12+ months.

I would suggest that you prepare a rent/security deposit guarantee for landlords along with guidelines that every tenant will abide by. You guarantee rent for the length of their stay; even if they stay past their lease end date and provide every landlord with a background check. That will make a very compelling offer to local landlords.

[Ryan D.]

I'm curious about what organizations provide this service and what areas of the city they rent to? I'm looking at buying an 8-unit building in Frankford and am open to renting to refugees. 

[Isaiah Gabaldon]

@Eduardo Esquivel I'm showing my rental to one of these organizations today (asip). Seems like they are willing to pay all but $50 or $75 if they are working. Is it true there isn't a cap on what the government will pay monthly? (Unlike section 8)? I want to learn more, because I'm about to rent to them?

[Richard F.]

Aloha,

A fundamental flaw with every subsidy program I have worked with is the issue of removing a tenant that has failed to fulfill the terms of the Landlord's Rental Agreement, whether by not paying their portion, damaging property through misuse or by intent, or causing other issues in the building/complex in violation of rules. Some programs only last for a certain period of time, perhaps year to year based on their funding, others will terminate a tenant from the program for violations, criminal behavior, etc. But they all leave it to the property owner to pay the expense of an eviction, and generally the needed repairs after the eviction as well. In the interim, you usually do not receive any rent from the program either. True enough, some programs now have better and more frequent in-home visits and additional monitoring or different types of assistance to the tenant, which is a good thing, but no help when it comes down to actual repairs or evictions.

The other issue is the typical requirement that the program's "addendum" must be attached to, and become part of, your rental agreement. These addendums are often twice as long as most Board of Realtors rental agreements, providing very one-sided protections for the program and for the tenant. There is no negotiation...it is take it, or leave it. And if you leave it, it seems you may well be in violation of Fair Housing in many locales.

To be clear, I have no issue with an Owner that wants to help those in need. But it should be entirely their choice, not a coerced arrangement.

[Denny Mears]

Why even bother there’s hundreds of local working normal folks in your area that need a place . I will leave you with what a lawyer told me “ it’s hard to win against someone who has nothing to lose “ 

[Bonnie Low]

Hi, @Isaiah Gabaldon! I like that you're here asking this question. So often agencies aren't the least bit interested in what the landlord needs or wants and that makes it hard to create a partnership. Here's my 2 cents: #1 - I would prefer rent to be paid via the agency rather than the tenant. That way I get paid according to the terms of the contract, regardless of what happens in that tenant's life. #2 - I need prompt payment and a penalty for late payment because the bank will penalize me if my mortgage payment is late. #3 - if a tenant needs to be evicted the agency pays all costs associated with the eviction and continues paying rent until the unit is vacated. That's it. None of these should be problematic for you if the agency has solid funding and if, as you indicated, the tenants are quality tenants and eviction isn't in the cards.