Keeping renters in affordable housing is going to be crucial. City of Boise leads by example
Kelly Covington got word from her employer this month that she was getting cut back to just 12 hours a week because of the coronavirus outbreak’s impact on business.
Covington, who typically works 34-38 hours per week as a breakfast hostess in the mornings and an airport shuttle driver in the evenings for a local hotel, said she began to despair, not knowing how she was going to make ends meet.
“I was in a heavy panic,” she told me when we spoke by phone last week.
When she got home to her apartment in the Vista Apartments at South Vista Avenue and Canal Street on March 17, she had a letter from the city of Boise, which owns the affordable housing apartment complex.
The letter said her rent was forgiven for the month of April.
“I just started crying,” Covington said. “If it wasn’t for the city of Boise doing this, I have to be honest with you, I’d probably be down at the shelter for a time.”
Covington’s story is emblematic of several storylines happening at once amid the coronavirus outbreak. First, it’s a bright spot in an otherwise dismal news story. Second, it’s yet another example of the city of Boise’s leadership in a time of crisis. But it’s also a warning of the gathering economic storm heading our way. And it exposes a major faultline in what was supposed to be a booming economy, showing that one group, the working poor, have been struggling even in good times.
The city of Boise has bought a little time — one month, for now — but after that, all bets are off. And what about people like Covington who aren’t in city-owned affordable housing, who aren’t getting their rent forgiven by a benevolent landlord?
The letter that Covington and other residents of the Vista apartments received was sent the day after Boise Mayor Lauren McLean declared a state of emergency in the city and ordered the closure of public access to most city buildings.
The letter informed residents of those announcements and provided information specific to residents of City of Boise Rental Housing units.
“In recognition of the potential hardship on our residents resulting from the coronavirus, rent is being forgiven for the month of April 2020,” the letter states. “If April rent has been paid, you will be credited for May.”
The letter also stated the city was putting a moratorium on evictions in city-owned properties through April 2020.
Covington originally wrote a letter to the editor, but I wanted to talk to her myself and get more details.
She wanted to make clear that this wasn’t just about her.
“I am writing this letter on behalf of those of us who live on Vista Avenue and Canal, which is Boise City Affordable Housing,” her letter begins. “Myself and others around me (who) live here, our income is not a large one. And Boise makes it possible for US to be able to maintain an apartment of our own.”
Covington said she typically brings home $800 per month working her two jobs, and her rent is $420 per month.
This is an indication of the economy we’re in. Imagine working two jobs, on a split shift, just to take home $800 a month. Further, finding a place to rent for $420 a month is otherwise nonexistent in Boise. Covington was just scraping by in a good economy — in a city-owned affordable housing unit. It’s an example of the shaky ground our seemingly booming economy has been resting on to begin with. Now, with a crisis like the current one we’re experiencing, the cracks are beginning to show.
Covington said she was told without much warning that her hours were being cut, but she recognized that her local general manager had little choice because of a steep drop-off in the hotel business. She said she’s grateful that her employer was able to find some work for her sanitizing rooms at the hotel for 12 hours a week.
“My boss is just trying to do her best,” she said.
Covington has lived in the Vista apartments for nine years and loves it. The apartment building is a converted motel, each with a studio apartment.
“I love living here,” Covington said. “We look at it as just one big house, and we each have our own bedroom.”
She said living in the complex is like a big family. In fact, some of the residents are family.
“I really like it here,” said Covington’s daughter-in-law, Arron Taylor-Parton, who also lives in the complex. “The neighborhood is quiet, everyone’s good neighbors.”
The city of Boise owns and operates more than 300 units of affordable rental housing units, according to Lana Graybeal, communications manager for the mayor’s office, in an email to me. The city purchased Covington’s apartment building in 2000.
Forgiving rent for the month of April for all of the city’s properties is going to cost the city about $122,000, according to Graybeal.
As a city taxpayer, I am more than good with that. In fact, that’s a small price to pay to keep these folks in their homes. A study by Boise State University researcher Vanessa Fry estimated that a person who lives on the street costs local governments and hospitals a total of $53,000 per year.
Forgoing $122,000 makes economic sense in the long run.
Graybeal said city officials will continue to monitor the situation and make decisions about future rent payments.
“As COVID-19 continues to evolve, we continue to monitor its impact on all of our community members,” Graybeal wrote. “We will continue to evaluate how we can ensure Boiseans are able to weather this time with as little financial impact as possible.”
Put me down as supporting rent forgiveness for May and probably June, as well.
Housing is going to be one of the most important factors in making it through what promises to be an economic downturn because of the novel coronavirus.
I hope that private landlords can recognize this, as well, knowing that if we can weather this storm for a couple or a few months, they’ll still have tenants after we come out of this. Landlords and property owners have to pay bills, too, and taxes, but if a landlord is able to forgive rent for a month or two, I would urge it. Other options may include rent deferral or rent reduction. I know some banks already are talking about loan deferrals, which will help not only individual homeowners but property owners who rent to others.
On Tuesday, the Idaho Apartment Association issued a statement calling on and encouraging property managers to participate in rent deferral programs for the month of April for tenants who can demonstrate a hardship due to coronavirus.
“We encourage all property managers to adopt programs that are appropriate for them,” according to the emailed release signed by Paul Smith, executive director of the Idaho Apartment Association. “These plans allow renters to qualify for rent deferment by demonstrating that their financial status has been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Many of us are lucky enough to work from home and continue to draw a paycheck. Others are not in that position, and many live paycheck to paycheck. Keeping folks like Covington and other residents of Vista apartments in housing while we go through this is going to be key.
Even though Covington is the one who reached out to the Idaho Statesman and wrote the letter to the editor, she said she wrote it on behalf of all of the residents in the complex.
“I’m not so concerned about myself,” she told me. “I’m more concerned about my neighbors. They can’t afford to go out and buy supplies. I’m more concerned about them. The good Lord has taken care of me, and I’m thankful for that. But I’m worried about what’s going to happen with others who live here.”
Covington said having her April rent forgiven allows her to save up and plan for May’s rent. Beyond that, she’s not thinking too far into the future.
“I’m just going to ride it out, ride out the storm,” she said. “And pray the good Lord will take care of us this year. Honest to God, I’m just taking it day by day.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
