RETAINING RESIDENTS

Taking steps to retain current residents will help slow the tide of vacancy in a neighborhood. Helping neighbors identify sources to obtain funding for needed repairs and stabilizing the rental housing in a community will help retain the neighbors currently living there.

Homeowners and neighbors need to know where to turn to get funding for repairs that affect the health and safety of residents and the surrounding community. In addition, neighbors need information on how to retain the residents in homes in their neighborhoods.

Homeowners and neighbors need to know where to turn to get funding for repairs that affect the health and safety of residents and the surrounding community. In addition, neighbors need information on how to retain the residents in homes in their neighborhoods.

When a homeowner is struggling to pay the mortgage and foreclosure looms in the near future signs of neglect often become apparent. Leaky roofs may be covered with tarps, broken windows may be visible, and one or more doors may be boarded. With every dollar going to paying the mortgage, homeowners, especially those on a fixed income often have little left for home repairs.

Several government resources may be available to a homeowner to cover repairs that the homeowner could otherwise not afford to make. Enabling homeowners to make needed repairs will allow them to continue living in a home that would otherwise no longer be a viable option. In addition, making repairs may cause a homeowner to feel more invested in a property, reducing the likelihood that the occupant will leave and cause the home to become vacant.

This chapter also includes some information on dealing with private contractors and others a homeowner might hire to make repairs to a home. This information will be useful if an organization has managed to obtain control of a property through some means (see chapter 6) or to anyone wishing to make repairs to their own property.

Repair work such as reroofing or the installation of new windows sends the signal to the community and to potential buyers that a community has not given up hope. It sends the message that the community is viable and that invested resident will sustain it. This signal of hope and commitment will help keep other invested residents in the neighborhood.

Committed and quality renters are an important segment of a neighborhood. Retaining these residents through rental property stabilization is critical. The City of Detroit has a Rental Registration Ordinance. This ordinance serves to create a register of rental properties in the City and provide inspections to make sure that those properties do not fall into disrepair. It is important that property owners assume responsibility for the properties they own and for the impact of that property on the surrounding neighborhood. This chapter will provide information on how neighbors can use the City of Detroit’s Rental Registration Ordinance to ensure the stability of rental houses in their neighborhoods