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Professional Publishing, Inc www.TheLandlordTimes.com
Vol. 17 Issue 7
July 2013
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MONTHLY CIRCULATION TO MORE THAN 5,000 APARTMENT OWNERS, PROPERTY MANAGERS, ON-SITE & MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL Published in association with: METRO Multifamily Housing Association & Rental Owners Association
National Rent Growth Slows for Eighth Consecutive Quarter Axiometrics Inc., the leading provider of apartment data and market research, reports that at the national level annual effective rent growth slowed to 3.2% in the second quarter of 2013. For comparison, annual effective rent growth in the second quarter of 2012 measured 4.0%. Further, Axiometrics’ data indicates that the effective rent growth rate has slowed for eight consecutive quarters as many Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) are decelerating from very strong growth the previous three years. Peak annual rent growth at the national level during this current cycle was 5.3% in July 2011. Despite the slowdown nationally, many individual markets are still generating very strong rent growth rates, with 20 of the top 88 MSAs reporting annual effective rent rowth Continued on page 5
HUD Announces First-Ever Same Sex Housing Discrimination Study Research seen as important first step in identifying possible patterns of discrimination in rental housing The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently released the nation’s firstever national study examining housing discrimination against same-sex couples in the private rental market. The study, An Estimate of Housing Discrimination Against Same-Sex Couples, measures the treatment same-sex couples receive from rental agents when inquiring about apartments advertised online, as compared to how otherwise similar heterosexual couples are treated. According to HUD’s study, samesex couples experience unequal treatment more often than heterosexual
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couples when responding to internet ads for rental units, and findings show that gay male couples experience more discrimination than lesbian couples. “President Obama and this administration have been unmatched in our efforts to ensure equal and fair treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons and communities,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Following the president’s lead, HUD has taken historic steps in the area of fair housing to ensure that we fulfill our nation’s commitment to equality. As this study shows, we need to continue
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our efforts to ensure that everyone is treated the same when it comes to finding a home to call their own, regardless of their sexual orientation.” “A person’s sexual orientation or gender identity should not be a reason to receive unfavorable treatment when searching for housing,” said Bryan Greene, HUD Acting Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD is committed to making sure that LGBT individuals have equal access to housing opportunities.” HUD’s study is based on nearly 7,000 email tests conducted in 50 metropolitan markets across the country between June and October of 2011. For each paired test, two emails were sent to the housing provider regarding the unit advertised online. The only difference between the emails was whether the couple was samesex or heterosexual. Unfavorable treatment was measured by whether Continued on page 3
Rental Housing Managers Can Recycle Electronics for Free! As a rental housing manager you probably get “stuck” occasionally with old PC’s, computer monitors or TVs from former tenants. You may have paid to recycle them in the past or maybe you have dumped them in the trash (hopefully only if it is legal to do so in your area). There is a better option. Recycle them – for free. You can save money and do the right thing by recycling TVs, computers and monitors in Washington and Oregon through state regulated “E-Cycling” programs. The E-Cycle Washington program and the Oregon E-Cycles program provide free recycling for electronics including any abandoned TVs, computers and monitors that rental housing managers may have to deal with. Here are links to each program’s website including how to find free drop-off locations in your area: Washington residents www.ecyclewashington.org Oregon residents www.deq.state.or.us/lq/ecycle/ index.htm If saving money isn’t reason enough to recycle, think about what we are throwing “away” when we trash our electronics. TVs, computers and monitors contain reusable Continued on page 7 Page 2
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Page 4
A MESSAGE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT …