More federal heat on derelict landlords
It looks like Congress may be on the road to better oversight of derelict landlords who operate federally subsidized apartment complexes, and that is good news for the residents and taxpayers.
The Commercial Appeal’s revelations last year about deplorable living conditions at apartments owned by Global Ministries Foundation brought local and national attention to a federal program that, in too many cases, failed to provide safe and decent housing to the poor and working poor.
The newspaper found that GMF bought properties, receiving significant federal subsidies, and failed to repair and maintain the buildings. Instead of repairing the buildings, the newspaper discovered that Richard Hamlet, GMF’s president and chief executive officer, moved about $9.2 million from its low-income housing nonprofit to its religious nonprofit.
Decent housing is supposed to be a key gateway out of poverty by providing safety and stability for families. With the lessening of those stresses, families can better concentrate on what it takes to climb out of poverty, from making sure children are achieving in school to parents doing what it takes to qualify for better-paying jobs.
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Housing, Transportation and Community Development, during a committee hearing Thursday expressed his support for improved oversight of federally subsidized housing properties.
Corker thanked Florida Sens. Marco Rubio, a Republican, and Bill Nelson, a Democrat, for highlighting the problem of neglectful landlords at HUD-subsidized facilities, including some owned by the Cordovabased GMF.
The Sunshine State senators have introduced the Housing Accountability Act of 2016, which would tighten inspection criteria and protect residents.
Corker, a former mayor of Chattanooga, said, “some of these landlords ... are obviously good, but so many of them are just total absentee and have no regard for the people who live in these various facilities. Obviously, that has to change.”
Rubio has been extremely critical of Global Ministries-owned properties in Jacksonville and other Florida cities, calling the foundation slumlords.
On Wednesday, U.S. Reps. Steve Cohen, DMemphis, and Dennis Ross, R-Fla., introduced the House version of the bill that, among other things, would require the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to survey tenants living in subsidized housing twice a year about property conditions and management performance.
The bill also would create new penalties for property owners who repeatedly fail the tenant surveys.
“This legislation would hold slumlords of lowincome housing accountable for neglecting their properties and their tenants. By surveying tenants directly on property conditions, residents can report any issues directly to HUD without fear of reprisal from owners and managers who have been known to threaten to evict those who try to complain,” Cohen said.
Ross made this point: “No matter someone’s income or socioeconomic status, no one deserves to live in squalor. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and to live in a safe, clean home.” He’s right. The federal government spends some $50 billion a year of our tax dollars to provide a range of housing assistance for the poor and low-income. When landlords receiving those funds do not provide decent housing to those families, they not only are cheating the federal government, but taxpayers as well.
After the newspaper’s stories about conditions at the some Global Ministries properties, officialdom finally sprang into action.
Two GMF properties, the Tulane and Warren apartments, were deemed unfit for habitation and their residents have been assisted in finding new places to live. HUD has discontinued federal rent subsidies for the properties and a U.S. District Court stripped Global Ministries of control of the apartments.
The delay in cracking down on Global Ministries represents a distressing failure by HUD to hold accountable landlords who accept federal rent subsidies while operating deplorable housing units.
All the blame should not be thrown HUD’s way. The city’s code enforcers should have been more diligent, and the local and state agencies that float the bonds that allow entities like GMF to buy apartment complexes should better scrutinize bond applicants.
There is nothing like the abuse of federal dollars to get the attention of Congress. I hope that eventually bodes well for passage of the Housing Accountability Act of 2016.