This is true that housing managers and agents are the ones responsible for representing their agencies by engaging with residents, finding solutions to their problems, and reaching out to their needs. But how often do housing agents meet and interact with the tenants?
Well, more than the housing agents, the maintenance staff get the chance to interact with the residents. So, it makes it important for the maintenance staff to be well-trained with the Fair Housing laws and ensure they are in compliance with the do’s and don’ts of maintenance.
Following all federal and state laws, maintenance staff shall be trained and must conduct themselves according to the Fair Housing laws. Here are 5 fair housing tips your maintenance persons should be aware of:
1. Treat everyone equally
As a maintenance staff, your job is to attend to the repair request that has been made without discriminating against the resident. You may want to give better service to someone who is more friendly or may wish to give certain special treatment to some members. While it’s completely normal and harmless, by doing so, you are actually creating a liability to yourself and your agency.
Some residents who do not get the same treatment and service can file a complaint of discrimination because of a certain discriminatory reason. It would only make things worse for everyone. So, make sure you treat everyone equally and perform your tasks without showing preferences.
2. Don’t fraternize with the residents
Residents can be of different natures, and some can be too friendly as well. There is a fine line between being a friendly person and being too friendly. Friendship feelings are complicated like any other relationship and you might never know what the other person thinks of you. At the end of the day, for them, you might only be a friendly maintenance person. So, you don’t want to take a step too far to violate the laws.
It would be for the best of all to socialize within the limits of work and avoid getting too friendly or even meeting outside the work or work hours.
3. Do everything with consent
Remember that you are entering someone’s home and private space. And you wouldn’t want to violate someone’s privacy, which is also a punishable offense according to the laws and Fair Housing Act.
This includes entering the house without permission and roaming around the house looking for a bathroom, or a tool. You can simply call out for the person or tenant.
4. Don’t allow residents to leave their minors with you
Some residents are multi-taskers and might leave their minors alone in a room or at home with you, while they run to the grocery store or basement. Unless it’s an emergency, do not allow this situation, if it happens and is enforced on you, make sure you inform your supervisors and reschedule the maintenance time.
You don’t want foul claims on you, plus it is not an ideal state of work for maintenance staff and a violation of the policies.
5. Form teams for emergency repairs
There will be times for residents to be away, and maintenance staff is called by the neighbors for emergency repairs. This could be many situations like water supply leakage, etc. In such cases, it is always advisable to enter the unit in a group to avoid further allegations of theft and damage in the house.
It is also important that only the necessary repairs that damage the property be repaired in the absence of the resident. Further repairs must only be carried out once the tenant appears and gives consent.
Final Words
The maintenance staff has much more to their jobs than just repairing and fixing things. Although their job is straightforward, they need to be careful to not violate the Fair Housing laws and agency policies.
