During times of national emergency many industry leaders have been known to redirect their focus to giving back and investing in the communities they serve. A wave of relief has come from our nation’s top multifamily residential companies to combat food and housing insecurities as well as raise money for hospitals and frontline workers, among other efforts.
Relief During COVID-19
These new initiatives and programs being launched to provide temporary relief during the COVID-19 pandemic are filling critical gaps for our communities, and we loudly applaud and praise them.
The Resident Relief Foundation, a non-profit organization that provides rental assistance grants during temporary emergencies, is leading multifamily industry fundraising efforts with their Resident Relief Initiative launch. In just March, the non-profit reported rental assistance submissions more than triple their annual rate.
Together with a multitude of multifamily industry partners and donors—including MYND Property Management, Veritas Impact Partners, GSH Group, Luxer One, among others—the group aims to ultimately combat the national housing crisis that will be spurred by the pandemic. The Resident Relief Initiative is based on a mission to raise urgently needed funds to keep renters in their homes when government intervention limits are reached.
Multifamily lender Arbor Realty Trust has also launched an initiative called the Arbor Rental Assistance Program. The program is available to Arbor’s existing property owners and will supplement existing government rent relief programs and leverage private capital for renters. Arbor is contributing $1 million in advances—and participating borrowers will match the amount—to tenants in need to help fill the rent gap during May and June. The program is being offered to residents at properties it finances across the country on a first-come, first-served basis.
LYND Property Management has created “Lynding a Hand,” where it will donate five dollars from every rent payment received to local hospitals in each of the metropolitan areas where it operates. With 20,000 units under management in 17 cities, the company has estimated it can raise tens of thousands for the program.
UV Residential has also donated $10,000 to launch a resident relief fund to meet the needs of its most vulnerable tenants impacted by COVID-19 through its Urban Village Program. The fund is now growing from other staff and investor contributions, the company recently reported. The money is being used to provide four weeks of meals to meet the top two needs of residents—food and housing. You can find more information about all of the initiatives and programs mentioned above here.
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