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DESIGNERS
EXTREME
MAKEOVER
CHALLENGE
A
Good Place to Live - Summary
Section
8 Vs Covington Residential Rental Housing Quality Standards
Just what are those damn, pesky HQS's (Housing Quality Standards)??? As best I can determine, there are no basic differences between HUD's and Covington's minimum requirements for HQS. But it is only when a unit is made available through a HUD Voucher, is it held to any accountability to those standards. Aren't all residential renters entitled to that same minimum protection and safeguard???
For a house or apartment to be a good place
to live, it must meet two kinds of housing quality standards:
Things it must have in order to be approved for the Housing
Choice Voucher Program.
Additional things that you should think about for the special needs of your
family.
These standards apply in six areas of a
house or apartment.
1. Living Room
2. Kitchen
3. Bathroom
4. Other Rooms
5. Building Exterior, Plumbing, and Heating
6. Health & Safety
When a house or apartment meets the
housing quality standards, it will be a safe, healthy, and comfortable home
for your family. It will be a good place to live.
After you find a good place to live, you
can begin the Request for Lease Approval process. When both you and the owner
have signed the Request for Lease Approval and your HA has received it, an
official inspection will take place. Your HA will inform both you and the
owner of the inspection results.
If the house or apartment passes, a
lease can be signed. There may still be some items that you or your HA would
like improved. If so, you and your HA may be able to bargain for the
improvements when you sign the lease. If the owner is not willing to do the
work, perhaps you can get him or her to pay for the materials and do it
yourself.
If the house or apartment fails, you
and/or your HA may try to convince the owner to make the repairs so it will
pass. The likelihood of the owner making the repairs may depend on how serious
or costly they are.
If it fails, all repairs must be made and the house or apartment must be
reinspected before any lease is signed. If the owner cannot, or will not,
repair the house or apartment, even if the repairs are minor, you must look
for another home. Make sure you understand why the house or apartment failed,
so that you will be more successful in your next search.
"Discovery
consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has
thought."
-
Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi
Turn this low end,
oddly configured 1 bedroom low-income rental property in a historic
neighborhood into a model for a long term affordable independent living
space for fixed-income single adults.
 
1043 Russell Street
- 1st Floor - Rear entry
This space is currently rented on a section 8
contract lease @ $350.00 monthly, of which the tenant pays $84.00. The unit
comes unequipped and the tenant is responsible for Gas & Electric, Water,
and Sanitation. The lease is under review and due to be renewed in April.
So why don't I just move?
I can walk to Kroger, catch a bus a block
away, it's Downtown in a "Historic Neighborhood", the neighbors are
tolerable, and it makes more sense to make a purse than look for a prettier
pig... For the most part, the unit is a shell with the exception of the
bathroom fixtures (new tub/shower) and the kitchen cabinetry. Furnace &
Hot water heater in basement. All the other furnishings are what I brought
with me or have salvaged from neighborhood rehabs.
I find it perplexing when I read about city
and community leaders negative comments and disdain for "residential
rental property". On one hand, there seems to be too much in certain
neighborhoods and the solution is to turn poor tenants into struggling owners.
On the other hand, luxury apts, lofts, artists studios, etc are seen as a key
to the Covington Renaissance and attracting the "Right" kind
of renters to populate the Downtown Core. In
either case, it seems to me that the real key is to lower turn-over by
improving quality of life.
My Rental Dilemma
Single male, 49, Terminally Ill, SSDI of
$721.00/mo, smoker, relies on public transportation, desires to be within
walking distance of laundry, major grocery, etc.. I have reached the end of my
Journey with just my Social Security, Medicare and Uncle Sam. I have no
need or desire to own any property and will be a renter for as long as I have
left. As the current fair market value for a 1 Bedroom apt is
$503.00 at the high-end, there has to be something better out there.
FAIR MARKET RENTS
*Amounts determined annually by
the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
For Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN to include Boone,
Campbell, Kenton counties
EFFECTIVE: OCTOBER 1, 2003
1 Bedroom $503
2 Bedroom $672
Rents generally
vary according to location, quality of unit and amenities
to name a few factors.
I would be more than willing & able to
pay more than $84.00 a month rent for some nicer appliances, more storage,
laundry, better bathroom, etc. - especially if the rent included the water
& sanitation and my Gas & Electric wasn't so high. Currently my
Shelter Costs of Rent, Water, Sanitation, and Communication average $160 for
22% of income. When you add in my current average Gas & Electric
bills, it brings my total costs for maintaining my Home to $450 or 62% of my
monthly fixed-income. But I did the unthinkable, I butted heads with a
previous landlord and took him to task for turning off my heat in December and
was eventually evicted as a matter of principle, losing most of my
possessions. And the several letters I've written to HUD probably doesn't help
my case either! I have a reputation!
Corner protrudes
approx 3' X 4' creating 5'9" alcove
Bath adjacent to
kitchen is approx. 5'6" X 7'7"
Bath just needs a
general update & make-over
Lots of space in the
kitchen with many possibilities, especially with the high ceilings and
unutilized wall space but it's too dark. A laundry center or at least a
w/d hook-up would be nice, and lots of built in storage.
 
Clearance is
25" X 78"
Floor to Ceiling Windows
facing Russell - 5'3" X 9" Chimney hump
The windows are the
appeal but also one of the main challenges along with the high ceiling and
wasted wall space. The narrow passage way into this space limits the
options for furnishings. It is the brightest, airiest room which I can
only envision as my Living space. I was thinking along the lines of a
futon and a couple of comfortable chairs for guests.
Januarys Gas &
Electric - $290.47 @ 68 deg
February's Gas &
Electric - $289.84@ 68 deg
Think "People
Working Cooperatively" with Long-term, single adult Low-income tenants
and their landlords. The benefits would be
increase the
quality of residential rental units, tenants quality of life, landlords
ability to compete, illustrate the incentive for upgrade, reduce need or
desire for turnover and capitalize on established programs and funding.
Furnishings
& Materials
I don't have
much myself. Bathroom fixtures, Kitchen base cabinet with sink and a
set of wall cabinets are furnished. Over the time I've been here
however, I have salvaged some cabinetry and counter tops that were in good
shape. Other than that I was thinking more along the line of
"built-ins" and second hand, cast-off
household furnishings...
The
Tenants Advocacy Project
Dedicated
to improving tenants "Quality of Life"
by
ending stigma & discrimination in Low-Income Housing
"What would our
community look like if it were a really healthy place to live?" The
National Civic League (NCL) posed this question to neighbors in hundreds of
communities across the country. This is how people everywhere responded:
-
A clean and safe
environment
-
A diverse and vibrant
economy
-
A place that has good
housing for all
-
A place where people
respect and support each other
-
A place that promotes
and celebrates its cultural and historical heritage
-
A place where citizens
and government share power
-
A place that has
affordable health care for all
-
A place that has good
schools
-
A place that has and
supports strong families
But we are moving away from
this ideal. In the Gannet News "Mood of America" poll, 76
percent of citizens agreed, "there is less concern for others than
there once was."
We must be careful not to over
generalize, since some Northern Kentucky communities may not fit these trends
fully, or even at all. There will always be crosscurrents and
countertrends. A few communities may have high levels of
interconnectedness and public participation, with few glaring social problems
and plenty of resources. But these communities are the exceptions.
Is the solution
financial? Solutions often cost money, so, of course, more public
funding to address local problems would be helpful. Support these
efforts, but realize that in the present economic and political climate,
success will not come easily and will cost each of us more than money.
We need to understand there are no short-term solutions. We need
CommUNITY Leaders who will engage, listen and translate the words into
compelling long-term actions. Leaders who can then garner the support of
government, private sector, faith community, public sector organizations and
residents for the action plans.
Residents, along with the
people who work, worship or have roots in a community need to be seen as an
alternative resource, as someone with something important to share.
The task is to identify these
alternative resources, then to coalesce and organize them, to plan, develop,
implement, and sustain multiple community wide solutions. This will not
happen all by itself. The structure for organizing and mobilizing
community resources is generally not in place. A big plus is that
people, 63 percent in one poll, believe that people are willing to pitch in
and fix what is wrong in their communities, if they knew how. Mechanisms
for involvement are rare, but do exist. Let us identify these processes
and bring them into our communities.
America is the great
democratic example, but because we lead there is no blueprint.
America's greatness has been due to our ability, on the national, state and
local levels, to find common ground. To large extent, it is our
ability to reach consensus through civil discourse that has contributed to our
greatness. Today, in our communities, neighborhoods, media and even in
our legislative bodies, far too often, a difference of opinion is
painted as evil, making constructive dialogue impossible.
In doing this work, the Boston
Foundation developed "Seven Guiding Principles for a New Social
Contract."
-
Incorporate those directly
affected by policies at the heart of dialogue and community building.
-
Value racial and cultural
diversity at the foundation for wholeness.
-
Promote active citizenship
and political empowerment.
-
Build on community
strengths and assets.
-
Ensure access to
fundamental opportunities and remove obstacles to equal opportunities.
-
Support and enhance the
well being of children and their families.
-
Foster sustained
commitment, coordination, and collaboration based on a shared vision and
mutual respect.
We hear congress can't get
anything done, or that government can't get anything right. We are a
democracy; the government is a reflection of ourselves.
The task ahead will be long and
is not easy, so it is important we get started. In the words of Bobby
Kennedy: "The future does not belong to those who are content with today,
apathetic toward common problems and their fellow man alike, timid and fearful
in the face of bold projects and new idieas. Rather, it will belong to
those who can blend passion, reason and courage in a personal commitment to
the ideals of American Society."
excerpted
from the "White Paper on Poverty in Northern Kentucky"
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