Austin Housing is adopting the use of a customer relationship management tool (CRM). Interviews with stakeholders identified fragmented & uncoordinated communication as one of the most frequently mentioned issues. Communication across the City of Austin, property managers, tenants, and homeowners is decentralized and inconsistent.   

Using a Customer Relationship Management Tool (CRM) will centralize contacts and workflows and preserve institutional knowledge between staff and property managers. Integrating the CRM with the Affordable Housing Inventory (AHI) and the Affordable Housing Online Search Tool (AHOST) will ensure that there is internal communication across departments and the public about the status of properties., The selected technology subscription supports Resolution No. 20260304-AFC007  Application Rationalization project and will be incorporated into the existing City of Austin enterprise agreement. 

Stakeholder findings identified challenges with decentralized communication, with many Austin Housing and AHFC staff contacting property managers separately. As a result, a primary point of contact at Austin Housing will be assigned to each property to answer property manager questions and communicate corrective action. Additionally, property managers noted facing heavy, inconsistent, and unclear reporting requirements. By standardizing onboarding, reporting, and documentation expectations, property managers should better understand what is required and when. 

Stakeholders expressed a desire for standardized documentation and predictable expectations. As a result, in August, Austin Housing will begin collecting standardized monthly monitoring reports from RHDA properties which will serve to confirm the current property manager, number of applications, denials, reasons for denial; number of available units, number of evictions filed; the financial stability of the property, and number of residents currently being served through the loan agreement. Additionally, after a vendor is solicited, a secret shopper program will be deployed to test the compliance of the Tenant Selection Criteria in the RHDA Guidelines. Over the course of two years each property operating under RHDA Guidelines of 2018 to present will be tested.  

Fragmented & uncoordinated communication was one of the most frequently mentioned issues across all stakeholder engagements. Staff spend significant time tracking down people and clarifying expectations that could be standardized. Because of this, Austin Housing is establishing programmatic feedback loops to ensure tenants and property managers receive follow up communication about their issue or question.  

In the stakeholder engagements it was evident that stakeholders want clearer escalation pathways, risk-based monitoring, and fair, predictable enforcement tools. To address this, a risk assessment review of each property’s performance will be conducted periodically across the Austin Housing divisions to identify areas of continuous improvement and coordination.  For properties found out of compliance, property managers will be required to participate in on-demand RHDA Property Manager training each time they are found out of compliance, in addition to obliging to the loan agreement requirements. Additional escalation consequences may be established when RHDA Guidelines are updated.

Tenants cited lack of clear information about their rights, complaint pathways, and program requirements. This results in confusion and prevents early issue resolutions. In an effort to overcome this barrier for tenants, Austin Housing will maintain a webpage of active RHDA properties and the version of RHDA Guidelines and Lease Addendum each property are beholden to, as well as the date the property was last monitored and the status of that monitoring visit. 

To support property manager’s and tenant’s understanding of the protections in place, Austin Housing is developing a webpage and poster for properties to post in their leasing offices for tenants to see and the Secret Shopper to observe. 

Training needs and desires were reported widespread across property managers, tenant advocates, internal staff, inspectors, and partner organizations. Stakeholders strongly requested accessible, free, on-demand training tied to real operational needs. In addition to creating free, on-demand training modules, a welcome packet will be provided to all RHDA property managers which includes: RHDA compliance and monitoring expectations, monthly reports, on-site visits, tenant’s rights poster, and their point of contact at the City of Austin. Austin Housing point of contact with properties will engage in routine discussions to ensure full understanding.