Resident Engagement: Building Homes and Communities

What does it mean to have a property with engaged residents?

At its core, resident engagement is all about comfort and trust. And if you own or invest in a multifamily property, that means knowing that the renters in your building:

• Feel comfortable asking for help when the kitchen sink leaks and trust it will be fixed promptly when they call;
• Feel comfortable reaching out and asking for help if they experience financial difficulties and trust that the person who owns the property wants to help them;
• Trust that the after-school or summer school programs the property offers for their kids will provide a safe and healthy learning environment; and
• Feel that indescribable sense of comfort just by knowing who their neighbors are.

Simply put, when residents are engaged, they feel comfortable asking for help. They trust that their voices will be heard. They think of their apartment as their home.

I. WHY DOES RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT MATTER?

Strong resident engagement in multifamily properties builds a stronger sense of community, enhances housing stability, and improves the health and well being of the people who live there.

• Strengthens Social Connections: Resident engagement promotes social interaction and closer relationships among neighbors. This sense of community can reduce feelings of isolation, increase mutual support, and create a more inclusive and welcoming environment.
• Improves Resident Satisfaction: Engaged residents are more likely to feel connected to their community and satisfied with their living situation. This contributes to a more stable resident base and lower turnover rates, which benefits both residents and property owners.
• Enhances Safety and Security: A vigilant and engaged community can deter crime and promote a safer living environment.? When residents are actively engaged in their community, they are more likely to look out for one another and report suspicious activities, leading to enhanced safety and security within the property. ?Increased resident engagement often includes participation in safety programs, such as neighborhood watch groups or emergency preparedness initiatives. These programs can help prevent accidents, reduce crime, and ensure that residents are prepared for emergencies
• Enhances Quality of Life:? Increased engagement often leads to more community activities and events, such as social gatherings, educational workshops, and recreational programs. These activities enrich the lives of residents, provide opportunities for learning and personal growth, and enhance overall well-being.
• Empowers Residents: Engaged residents whose voices are heard feel more empowered and valued. This sense of empowerment can lead to greater satisfaction and a stronger commitment to the community.

II. HOW DOES RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT BENEFIT INVESTORS?

Investors should think of resident engagement at a multifamily building as a hedge that mitigates investment risk by increasing the tenure of residents, lowering operating expenses, and strengthening the reputation of the property.

• Higher Retention Rates: Engaged residents are more likely to feel a sense of community and satisfaction with their living experience. This results in lower turnover rates, which reduces vacancy periods, and the costs associated with marketing, preparing units, and leasing to new tenants.
• Positive Word of Mouth and Reviews: When engagement is high, renters tend to leave positive reviews and recommend the property to others, which helps attract new tenants and maintain a positive reputation for the property. This can lead to higher occupancy rates and reduced vacancy related expenses.
• Lower Maintenance Costs: Engaged residents are more likely to take care of their units and common areas, reducing damage, wear and tear, and the need for extensive repairs. Additionally, they are more likely to report maintenance issues early, preventing more costly repairs down the road.
• Better Resident Feedback: Engaged residents are more likely to provide constructive feedback on property management, services, and amenities. This allows property managers to make targeted improvements that can enhance the living experience and property performance.

By fostering a stronger connection between renters and the property in which they live, resident engagement supports higher occupancy, longer lengths of stay, lower expenses, and more stable financial performance.?

III. WHAT IS THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD FOR IMPACT?

Establishing a consistent industry minimum standard for resident engagement helps property owners set clear impact-driven goals across their portfolio and makes it easier for investors to assess affordable multifamily housing investment opportunities.

The Multifamily Impact Framework? minimum impact threshold for resident engagement requires that property owners and investment managers adopt impact plan(s) and/or investment strategies that incorporate an intentional approach to increase renter engagement that includes:?

1. Communication and feedback loops to measure renter satisfaction, resident service participation, and identify ongoing resident priorities and needs.
2. A process to identify and leverage existing community resources.
3. Initiatives to increase information sharing and communications between renters and on-site staff.

These can all be achieved by incorporating policies that ensure resident needs assessments are conducted at properties prior to the introduction of resident service programming or by conducting customer satisfaction surveys at the property and incorporating technology to increase the level of communication between property management and residents.

IV. HOW DO YOU MEASURE RESIDENT ENGAGEMENT AT A MULTIFAMILY PROPERTY?

To quantify and assess the impact and outcomes of their resident engagement strategies, the Multifamily Impact Framework? recommends that investors and property owners include the following components in their impact reporting and due diligence.

1. Property owners should provide an overview of their resident engagement approach and identify the resident engagement activities (both on-site and remote) that are being provided to residents.? While participation rates in the programs do not measure outcomes, they are a good indicator of resident usage and engagement with the services being provided.
2. Property owners should be able to demonstrate how they stay current on renter priorities, concerns and satisfaction levels via resident needs assessments and satisfaction surveys.
3. If the property has a resident association, property owners should ensure that the association is regularly consulted for feedback on programs, services, and property needs.?? ?

The Multifamily Impact Council has incorporated the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future’s (SAHF) CORES certification for resident engagement within its Impact Framework.?If property owners are COREs certified or work with a third-party service provider that is COREs certified, they will meet the MIC threshold requirement and reporting guidelines.? SAHF and CORES recently updated their resource guide for resident engagement.? It is a great resource and can be downloaded here.?

V. WRAPPING THINGS UP

For property owners and investors, resident engagement starts with listening and understanding the needs and concerns of the people who pay rent every month.? For renters, being engaged means trusting that your concerns will be heard, relevant services will be offered and that you can feel comfortable asking for help when you need it.??

This may sound simple, but making it work requires taking an intentional approach and process that makes gathering and responding resident feedback a part of your organization’s culture.?? ?

And when it works, it’s magic.? Done right for one renter, it can create a home.? Done right across a building, it makes a community.

If you are interested in learning more about resident engagement and other multifamily impact investing standards, please feel free to download the Multifamily Impact Framework?.

Bob Simpson is a nationally recognized expert in affordable, green and healthy housing with more than 25 years of experience working at the highest levels of housing finance and public policy. He is the CEO and Founder of the Multifamily Impact Council, a non-profit organization focused on creating industry standards for impact investing that help increase the flow of capital to support affordable and sustainable multifamily rental housing properties in the United States.