It’s the Law

June is Pride Month

by Alex Reynolds, Evictions Manager, The Law Office of Jennifer McCoy

With that in mind, let’s dive into some steps you can take to ensure that yours is a culturally diverse and allinclusive multi-family community.

Start from the Inside Out

According to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, while minorities remain the major source of demand for rental housing, housing staffs are decidedly less diverse. A recent survey of 2,900 professionals in commercial real estate reported that nearly 60% of their workplaces were not diverse enough, while nearly 29% of those surveyed reported that only 5% of their colleagues were minorities.

When compared to renters, the lack of diversified staff in the multifamily industry is glaring. This absence of diversity can have a significantly negative impact on your business practices, including the potential to leave you open to Fair Housing concerns.

To ensure your community’s hiring and retention practices are all inclusive, consider drafting job descriptions and creating policies that encourage attracting and interviewing people from all cultural backgrounds, as well as establishing oversight that assures that both diversity and inclusion are considered in all aspects of your community’s staffing procedures.

Change the Way You Communicate

Arguably, your most important role as a property manager is to attract and maintain happy residents. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you to ensure you are creating an environment that is all-inclusive, and that can start with something as simple as the way you communicate.

“Actions speak louder than words, but language is powerful when it comes to both reflecting and effecting cultural change,“ says Betsy Feigin Befus, senior vice president and general counsel for the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC). From the marketing verbiage on your website, to the language used during in-person interactions with residents, most industry insiders agree that all communications should reflect cultural diversity. This includes using genderneutral language in support of the LQBTQ+ community.

According to Bob Pinnegar, president and CEO of the National Apartment Association (NAA), “Using inclusive language demonstrates understanding and appreciation of everyone’s backgrounds and helps build stronger communities where everyone feels respected, included, and truly at home.”

There’s Always Room for Improvement

While the multifamily industry has universally supported and encouraged cultural diversity and inclusivity, there is always room for improvement. “When you actively execute and achieve some level of diversity across race, gender, age, sexual orientation, and perspective,” says Dru Hill, CEO of Grace Hill, a technology-based company designed to help properties increase performance, “you have meaningfully better results.”