s . E E L /==\ i r t I r AXESIA r USI F Z ll ll ii Testimony of Travis Heynen E i l Before the Ioint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services In Support of LD 1713, An Act to Improve Housing Support in the Bridging Rental Assistance = =i i . Program .s 3 Ianuary 17, 2018 Senator Brakey, Representative Hymanson, and members of the Ioint Standing Committee on Health and Human Services, my name is Travis Heynen. I am the Director of Housing & Services at Avesta Housing. Avesta Housing is a nonprofit organization with its headquarters in Portland. We provide an array of housing services in both Maine and New Hampshire. Our mission is to “improve lives and strengthen communities by promoting need." and providing quality affordable homes for people in We own or manage 5 approximately 2,400 housing units in Maine and New Hampshire, including two assisted i living facilities. Avesta Housing strongly supports LD 1713. Aligning the rent standard of Bridging Rental Assistance Program, or BRAP, to other housing voucher programs, such as Section 8 and Shelter Plus Care, will allow people to successfully bridge to permanent housing options. E is the intention of this program. Bridging people to permanent housing l l , E Z BRAP requires people to pay 51% of their income towards rent. No matter the sector, E 2 whether affordable housing or private lending, an income to rent ratio this high is l ié considered severely rent burdened. Due to participants paying most of their income is towards rent, BRAP participants have less money to spend on necessities such as food, transportation, and medical care. This directly impacts participants’ quality of life and it ability to be successful in their housing. Avesta Housing commissioned Thomas McLaughlin, PhD, of the University of New England in to conduct a study to measure the success of residents , living properties managed by Avesta Housing. We found that for BRAP participants, there was two to three times as much money owed at move out when compared to those with other similar housing voucher programs. We also found that participants were evicted at a rate two to three times higher than other residents in the apartments that we manage. I have included an attachment in my written testimony to support these statements. E 307 Cumberland Avenue - Portland, Maine 04101 - M 207 553-7777 1-800-339-6516 Voice/Ti Y i § rt"; Q 0 . '11 207 553 7778 Fax 4 www.avestahousing.org t..li;;:;f;‘:..o1;2, If BRAP participants were not rent burdened, they would be less likely to owe back rent or excessive damages when they move out. BRAP makes a damage payment equivalent to two months of rent if the participant moves out and owes damages or back rent. This, coupled with the current rent requirement, leads to more expenses for the state due to damages, unpaid rent, and turnover time. It leads to more expenses for private landlords for the same reasons. We need to be better stewards of these public funds, not only to be fiscally responsible but also to better serve this vulnerable population. Thank you for your time, and I am happy to answer any questions you may have. ; 1 < ,5 E 1 Income I The average income for all tenants at the time of move in is $14,961. The Tax Credit program has the highest income at $26,759 for tenants at move in while Logan Place/Florence House has the lowest at r $5,558. E Table 1 I I Y 9 ait\Ti Program . “Grolsisilncome ime of Move In j BRAP $11,008 Tax Credit $26,759 Section 8 Voucher $16,885 Logan Place/Florence House $ 5,558 Shelter + Care $ 9,494 Project Subsidized $15,575 5 3 Average $14,961 Evictions In the study, 12% of all tenants were evicted by Avesta Housing. Evictions include those tenants asked to leave in lieu of eviction. Of those, the highest rates of eviction were in the BRAP program at 24%, while the Section 8 Voucher program had an eviction rate of 2%. r f c Table 2 V Program 511;» ~ Not Evicted Evicted ~51} t BRAP 76% 24% K Tax Credit 93% 7% Section 8 Voucher 98% 2% Logan Place/Florence House 87% 13% Shelter + Care 81% 19% Project Subsidized 92% 8% 0 Average 88% 12%; E Money Owed at Move-Out Table 3 provides an overview of the money owed by tenants when they moved out. The data shows that BRAP tenants had the highest amount owed at $1,656, while the Project Subsidized tenants owed the lowest at $245. 1 i t Table 3 Damagss 1 ‘w Total \ ‘ " if 1 v 1 1 1 Program ;RentYOw.e\d] . t towedii; Owed BRAP $662 $994 $1,656 Tax Credit $557 $144 $701 1? E Section 8 Voucher $13 5 $881 $1,016 ‘s Logan Place/Florence House $412 $281 $693 Shelter + Care $156 $716 $872 Project Subsidized $1 12 $133 $295 i Average $365 $532 $897 Housing Violations Table 12 provides an overview of the number of late payments and lease violations by tenants. The Logan Place/Florence House program had the highest average of late payments at 4.7/year, while the Project Subsidized had the lowest average at 0.79/year. The BRAP program had the highest number of lease violations at 1.3 8/year, followed by the Shelter Plus Care program at 0.95. The overall average of late payments was 1.77, while the overall average of the tenants had .61 lease violations per year per person. Table 4 1 ” 1 1 1 = or . Average Late. Average Lease T 0 V . t Payments \Violations per Program Tper@Year is * _ Year BRAP 1.71 1.38 Tax Credit 2.6 0.27 Section 8 Voucher 1.15 0.33 Logan Place/Florence House 4.70 0.61 Shelter + Care 1.15 0.95 Project Subsidized .79 0.23 Average 1.77 0.61.