The maintenance team typically has more interactions with residents and prospects daily than any other on-site staff – yet they typically receive the least Fair Housing training.
When maintenance professionals aren’t trained to effectively and appropriately answer the common questions asked by residents and prospects, they can easily create Fair Housing concerns simply by trying to be helpful.
Whether it is a prospect asking about availability or a resident wondering why their new neighbor has a reserved parking space at the community when reserved parking spaces are not offered, knowing what can and cannot be said in response is critical to maintaining compliance while also interacting in a non-confrontational manner.
To support a Fair Housing-compliant and customer-friendly experience, it is essential that everyone on the maintenance team can respond to common questions appropriately, even if that answer is simply to direct the question to someone in the management office.
In this session, the expert speaker reviews the basics of Fair Housing compliance, the fundamentals of effective communication, and common situations the service team encounters, along with appropriate approaches for responding to those situations.
In an environment of increased impatience, heightened intolerance and reliance on litigation, even well-intentioned comments can be misconstrued and, in extreme circumstances, taken to be discriminatory.
Team members who interact with the public should understand the fundamentals of communication and how Fair Housing compliance should inform their listening and speaking. Whether speaking to a resident in their apartment home or encountering them outside of work, maintaining a professional, polite, and respectful manner remains important.
Doug Chasick, That Fair Housing Guy™, is the former President of the Fair Housing Institute, Inc. With more than 49 years of investment real estate experience, he began as the Resident Manager of a 524-unit apartment property and has been the President or CEO of five real estate companies, responsible for portfolios of over 28,000 apartments, and more than 8 million square feet of commercial, retail and industrial properties.