Even the most effective management of affordable housing properties cannot completely prevent the occurrence of serious, negative events such as accidents, criminal activity or equipment failure. At their worst, these events can lead to property damage, displacement of tenants, bodily injury or death. If a serious incident does occur, the property owner should notify all stakeholders in the project of the occurrence as soon as possible, after emergency procedures have been followed and the situation has been stabilized.
The Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development requests that owners of projects financed by this office notify us in writing as soon as possible if a serious incident occurs at their properties and meets one or more of the following parameters:
- Involves severe injury or death
- Is a serious, violent crime that involves a major police action (e.g., shooting)
- Failure of one or more major systems for more than 24 hours – elevator, heat, hot water, electricity, cooking fuel or life/safety system
- Causes the building or a substantial number of units to be off-line
- Requires a resident to move out of a unit one month or longer
- Damage to the building is significant enough to require the use of reserves
The owner should notify the MOHCD asset manager assigned to the project and provide the following information:
- The date and time of the incident
- A description of the incident
- A description of what has been and is being done in response to the incident and how the needs of the affected tenants will be met while the problem is being corrected
- The name, phone and email of the staff that should be contacted if there are questions
- Confirmation that 1) the property insurance is current and 2) the insurance company has been contacted; a brief summary of their response, if available
- Statement of how the project owner or sponsoring organization will cover the cost of corrective action, including possible use of the project’s reserves