Some property managers are great at managing buildings. Others understand building science but prefer duties that involve the apartment community. The better managers take it up a notch further and become experts in green operations and management. The great manager, however, does all these things and anticipates the latest trends in lifestyle, technology and government regulation. Here are a few recent developments we found interesting that may affect the industry:

Health Department Lists: Health inspectors may become a fixture in multifamily’s future and not just in subsidized housing. The anti-smoking ban in public places in some states is getting much more personal. In September 2010 the Tacoma-Pierce County (WA) Health Board members will consider a proposal to classify secondhand smoke as a “nuisance” in multi-unit housing, which many eco-activists have been promoting so that it may be banned completely.

Apartment Smoking Bans: Calabasas, California was the first city to aggressively ban smoking on city streets and any place ‘the public might be anticipated to be’. The latter was interpreted to cover all city property except the inside of peoples’ single-family homes.  With regard to multifamily, however, they also fiddled with that and required apartment owners to create smokefree buildings – or sections of buildings - with defined goals of reaching a majority of smoke-free units within a few years. About 28% of all adults smoke, but studies show even smokers often prefer a smoke-free building. In Tacoma-Pierce County in Washington state, 82% of those interviewed for a survey preferred smokefree buildings. Multifamily’s issue is that the shared housing allows secondhand smoke to filter through outlets, hallways and ventilation systems and eco-activists claim there is no way to eliminate risk to others.

Government Oversight: As Americans become more educated and concerned about indoor environmental quality and its effects on health, expect local and federal government officials to become more broadly involved in building management. City and state revenues are down and it may be just a matter of time before some civic thinker suggests more inspections will also levy more fees and fines. Some communities are already requiring benchmarking of buildings and these sorts of requirements will generate the need for government staff to supervise and evaluate results.

Bed Bug Disclosure: Scientists are unsure whether the current bed bug epidemic spreading across the Western world is the result of imported bugs or bans on pesticides like DDT, but nobody disputes this serious problem is rapidly getting worse. The New York state legislature reacted to complaints recently by passing a law that requires New York City landlords to disclose the bed bug history of an apartment to all prospective tenants. The law goes one step further, however, as it also requires disclosure of the bed bug histories of any neighboring units and buildings. Bed bugs have been found in libraries, offices, homes and even on public transportation, so don’t think your tenants are immune. Any inhabited building can become infested, as we are their only prey and they don’t discriminate. Support for an expanded bill is expected to become more popular – it is not statewide - as more infestations are found outside of New York City.

Tenant Bug-Free Certifications: At present there are no known diseases carried by bed bugs, but that doesn’t make them any prettier.  Some property managers are including language in their leases that requires tenants to certify that they accepted the apartment as ‘bed bug free’ on move-in day. The Columbus Apartment Association suggests their members give infestation information to prospective tenants which outlines several links from Harvard, Cornell and Ohio state. They also furnish a sample application document in pdf format which property managers can use to require new tenants to certify they are bug-free and have personally examined their:

• Mattress
• Box spring
• Bedframe and headboard
• Couches, sofas, chairs and recliners
• Nightstands, dressers, clothing
• Suitcases and backpacks
• General inspection of current premises including baseboards, carpet and rug edges, window and door molding and drapery and curtain folds

In light of the difficulty in eradicating bed bugs once they have begun co-habitating with residents, a professional pest inspection between turnovers may be a very wise strategy for owners and prospective residents. Owners and residents in New York City have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars getting rid of major infestations, so it is better to identify the problem early. A professional’s pest-free report is also great documentation if you later need to prove the apartment’s pest status in court. Expect tenants and owners to sue over this issue in one of those ‘he-said/she-said’ struggles. Keep in mind that bed bugs are not caused by poor hygiene, however, they may be more difficult to find in clutter.

Municipal/Water Utility Charges: As cities and utility districts search for new revenue sources to fill huge budget deficits, they are beginning to target apartment and mobil home park communities. Planners in the city of San Benito in deep South Texas have estimated that requiring individual sub-metering of water to these groups will increase water delivery revenues from slightly over $24,000 a year to $243,000, over a ten-fold increase. The sub-metering is also expected to reduce water usage, as residents feel the impact of actually paying for the quantity of water used. Planners estimate that people reduce their water usage from 16% to 35% with a meter. The city justifies this approach by claiming parity can only be reached when these communities pay an equivalent fee to single-family homes that pay about $20 a month. Currently apartments and mobil home parks pay a single fee between $20 and $30 a month – depending on the size of the master water meter – which covers all their residences.

Legislation Allowing Water and Energy Sub-Metering: In spring of 2009 even the IRS amended its utlility allowance final regulations to allow sub-metering in low-income housing buildings. The reason this matters is that the utilities a tenant pays had been calculated into the monthly rent for subsidized housing and then the amount was subtracted. The property manager can pick one of three computation choices:

(1) An Agency Estimate which is an estimate from a state housing agency for each unit in the building

(2) Calculations for the utility allowances based on the HUD Utlility Schedule Model (USM) which is based on the Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) performed by the Department of Energy. The HUD USM considers the elements and systems in the structure but also uses building location and climate in the calculations.

(3) The Energy Consumption Model lets building owners hire qualified professionals who calculate the utility allowances based on an acceptable energy consumption model.

The new allowance rules are intended to  provide stability for the landlord’s rent computation, which can benefit the tenants. If the tenants - who pay the utility directly in this case - elect to conserve and save money, they receive the benefit below average consumption. Of course, if the reverse is true, they will have to pay the extra. It is hoped that it will spur conservation and lower usage by residents.

Landscape Restrictions: Texas recently passed legislation that forbids installing certain types of turf grass that are known to require extensive watering. The legislation affects all Texans but it is intended to protect the water supply generated by the Rio Grande. With desert conditions and low annual precipitation, the American Waterworks Association has estimated residential outdoor water use in this area at 50% of the total. (30% is the national average.) The legislation also requires that municipal governments develop two new plans, one for water conservation and the other for drought.

Bicycle Parking: With a slim vote, the Huntsville, Alabama city council passed an ordinance that will require new apartment buildings, condos and multifamily buildings to have one bike parking space for every five residences.  In addition, any new business with 20 or more parking spaces will need to install a bike rack at the entrance to its establishment.  New large retailers and big boxers with huge parking lots will have to accommodate as many as thirty bikes. Although existing businesses are grandfathered, parking lot expansions will trigger the new bicycle parking requirement. (Many apartment buildings are adding bicycle racks and secure storage and even promoting bicycle clubs to gain new residents.)

Right to Dry Laws: Homeowners Associations across America control behavior in about 300,000 communities and presently a large percentage prohibit clotheslines. Many apartment buildings also prohibit drying clothes, blankets, towels and other items outdoors as well, but these regulations are being challenged legally. Five states recently passed right-to-dry laws and organizations like Alex Lee’s Project Laundry List are diligently working to add more. Nostalgia aside, clothes dryers use large amounts of energy and outdoor drying is free. If your laundry facilities are not a money-maker – or you are feeling incredibly green – create a screened or vine covered enclave that hides the clothesline, preserves your curb appeal and delights your green renters.

Mandated Energy Testing & Installer Certification: California law now requires all solar photovoltaic systems installers and contractors to analyze the home’s energy efficiency before any work is commenced. Implementing the needed energy efficiency improvements remains optional, but the hope is that educated owners will decide to include some of these efficiency measures along with their PV installation. Along this ‘voluntary vein’, many states are also requiring that PV system installers have earned the proper, state-approved credential in order for the customer/owner to receive any renewable or clean energy grants, tax credits or incentives.

Peak Day Energy Pricing: Utilities are sharing information with customers so that they can try to avoid ”Peak Day Pricing” through energy use reduction on high usage days. Higher pricing is generally in play in most utilities during the day and when temperatures are above 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Night time usage is generally at reduced rates because of low demand.

Building Energy Benchmarking: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently tried to mandate multifamily owners provide detailed information about their operations with regard to stormwater and other related issues. Although the survey was deemed to be an inappropriately invasive questionnaire and the industry successfully pushed back to stop it from moving forward, the information gathered would have been useful. The EPA wanted to determine the details of heat island effects and energy, water and sewer services usage so that it could identify how to better manage stormwater. The information requested was a formal way of trying to gain information that would have helped the EPA determine to what extent the multifamily industry could afford to make needed improvements and modifications. Although this mandate was unsuccessful, certainly the EPA and the Department of Energy (DOE) will be back for similar efforts along with congress and state and local departments of ecology.  California’s Assembly Bill 1103 (AB 1103) will require non-residential business owners to input their energy consumption/building data into the EPA’s Portfolio Manager and generate an energy efficiency rating and provide it to prospective buyers and lessees for the previous year. The California Energy Commission (CEC) is in the process of deciding when this will take affect, with speculation that January of 2011 is the likely disclosure date. Commercial residential and larger low-rise multifamily will undoubtedly be targeted after the CEC is finished with regulating the commercial sector. Many cities, including New York City and Washington DC, have similar regulations.

Green Cleaning and Maintenance: States have begun passing green cleaning initiatives that now require school maintenance and custodial personnel to use only GreenSeal equivalent products. We know children are more adversely affected than adults by the toxic chemicals in cleaning products, but as Americans spend 90% of their lives indoors everyone should be concerned about reducing exposure. Even if products are not banned outright, it is probable that apartment managers will soon be required by municipal, state or federal regulations to reduce or eliminate the potential for toxic chemical exposures to their residents.

Other Articles of Interest:

Are Smoking Bans Legal in Apartments?

Does Your Association Have a Sustainability Committee?

Utility Cost Take-Out: A Model for Sustainability