Hannagh Jacobsen

Let’s face it – trying to safely move dozens, sometimes hundreds, of people during a pandemic is a daunting task. But it is a challenge that affordable housing owners and property managers here in New England and across the country have taken on over the last year as they have renovated their properties. Housing – and sometimes commercial – relocation is often an integral part of the renovation and preservation process for affordable and public housing, and the smart developers are the ones who create and implement a housing relocation plan that prioritizes the needs of vulnerable residents. 

Units of affordable and public housing are upgraded and renovated less frequently than market-rate apartments because developers often have fewer opportunities to recapitalize those projects. Going through the affordable housing preservation process often gives those developers the chance to recapitalize and reinvest in their developments. That’s a good thing in the long-term, because it leads to more efficient buildings for owners and managers and a better quality of life for residents, most of whom are families and individuals living in low-income circumstances.  

Katie Provencher

But in the short-term, it means the temporary inconvenience of relocating sometimes very vulnerable individuals – seniors, people living with disabilities, veterans, children and others – from their homes. That’s a challenge even when we aren’t facing a once-in-a-lifetime public health crisis, and effective owners and managers are the ones who make sure to first assess the situation of their residents and then put a plan in place that will address their challenges.  

There is more than one option for housing relocation, from temporary off-site relocation to in-place relocation, which allows those living in the units to stay on-site while work is being done on their units, to permanent relocation. Knowing which will best serve your residents is an important part of the process. It is also worth noting that relocation is regulated under the Uniform Relocation and Real Properties Acquisition Act of 1970 (URA) and the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program, along with state and local rules, and that any plan must first start with understanding your responsibilities as an owner.  

But the need to get things right for everyone involved – from residents to on-site staff to contractors – is even more urgent during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensuring that your housing relocation is as stress-free as possible during these times, it’s important to remember three principles: Put community first, be flexible and think creatively. 

Community First  

It may seem like a cliché, but an important part of community engagement is actually engaging the community.  

The people who will be most impacted by relocation – whether it is for just a few days or a few weeks – are residents. So the priority for any owner or property manager should be on speaking with them, hearing about their needs and creating a plan that is grounded in addressing those concerns.  

Not only will this make the process go smooth, but it will also help build trust moving forward.  

Take Your Time, Be Flexible 

During the pandemic, actions that only take a few minutes during normal times may take an hour. And things that usually take a few hours may take a few days. So it is important to take those extended timelines into consideration when building and implementing your relocation blueprint.  

The ability to be flexible, whether it comes to schedules or other issues, is also an important element to a successful relocation process.  

Think Creatively 

As we said above, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to housing and commercial relocation and ensuring the safety of all involved is paramount. Thinking creatively, especially about safety issues, will allow developers to protect the health of people living in the units, contractors, staff, and more, and help to address any problems that may arise.  

In the best of times, each relocation is unique but during this period, it’s important for owners to think expansively about ways to help their residents get what they need. For example, a community day for resident in-place relocation may now need to be divided up into individual day space “pods” so residents are appropriately physically distanced and COVID-19 safe.  

COVID-19 doesn’t mean that owners or managers have to put off their renovation plans; it just means they have to plan differently. Centering the needs of residents, accounting for timeline changes, and thinking creatively are the basic building blocks for a successful outcome. 

Hannagh Jacobsen and Katie Provencher are co-founders of HousingToHome (HTH), a newly-launched, women-owned housing and commercial relocation business.