Myth 5
Property managers play no role in assimilation.
Indeed, Hispanics can go out of their way to avoid landlords. But in some cases, their avoidance may be justified. Consider what happened to an immigrant living in an apartment complex on Jefferson Street in Washington, D.C. She was taking a shower when a rat fell on her, says Kahn of the Equal Rights Center, who suspects the property manager was trying to drive out Hispanic residents by allowing the property to deteriorate. Rodents are actually common in immigrant housing, per the American Housing Survey, which said that 257,000 units with Hispanics had rats in the past three months; 753,000 units had mice in the same time frame.
Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. Hispanic residents have been threatened by landlords who accuse them of being in the country illegally. “We see the examples of letters going out to residents saying that they’re going to bring in immigration authorities,” Bowdler says. “They say, ‘If you’re here illegally, we’re going to find you.’”
In other instances, property managers simply overlook their Hispanic residents. “They welcomed me [to] lease the apartment, but when I moved in, they forgot about me,” says Luis Carlos about his rental experiences as an illegal immigrant living in Marietta, Ga., via a translator.
Vela believes that the vast majority of property managers don’t know how to interact with their Hispanic residents. But why? Is it racism? Ignorance? Or, as Kahn’s example shows, a desire to chase out immigrants to make room for residents who will pay more? “There’s a lack of understanding of the culture by the vast majority of apartment owners and operators,” Vela asserts. “They don’t recognize the value of investing in our community.”
Akins is not one of those owners. He has had success reaching out to immigrant renters in Texas. “It starts with bridging the language gap,” he says. “We make sure the staff speaks Spanish, so they can communicate with the residents. We want an on-site staff that cares about people and is interested in the well-being of residents.”
And providers in every segment of the multifamily industry have begun offering bilingual products and services to serve this demographic. It’s even possible for a property manager to steer immigrants away from their reliance on cash. “You’ve got to educate people,” Vela says. “I bring in local banks and nonprofits. We teach financial literacy. We can teach you how to wire the money home to your family.”
