Flooded rental housing seeing slow progress

Repairs to rental housing lost in the 2008 flood here have become so slow-moving, almost anything looks like progress.

“These are small steps, but they're huge,” is how Steve Schmitz describes the effort to match landlords to tenants who lost their homes to the flood.

Community Recovery Center staff are seeking housing for 28 flood-displaced families, including nine still in mobile homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said Schmitz, director of the Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition that operates the center.

Schmitz hopes at least a few of those families will be able to move into rentals repaired through a new Community Recovery Center program funded with a $100,000 grant from the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation. The grant will fund repairs for landlords who agree to rent to low-income residents displaced by the flood.

“Our intent when we went to the foundation was to connect those families who need a place to live and the landlords who need help,” Schmitz said. “The landlord has the property and can't rebuild, we have the clients that need those properties. How can we make this happen?”

Rental properties aren't eligible for recovery assistance through the state's Jumpstart program, and the federal government requires properties repaired with Small Business Administration grants or Community Development Block Grants be rented at what is considered to be an affordable rate for five years. That's $649 a month in Cedar Rapids.

“Single-family homes in that range are very tough,” said Mari Davis, an owner and manager of rental properties who co-founded Flood Impacted Landlords (FILL).

Landlords in the new program still must rent at the reduced rate for five years, but Schmitz pointed out they stand to receive up to $45,000 in Jumpstart and Community Recovery Center funds, plus free volunteer labor through the center.

”Hopefully, the resource is matched with the need,” he said.

Davis said 53 percent of residential properties damaged by the flood were rentals, but the city lacks solid numbers on how many still could be salvaged, assuming their owners are interested.

“We don't know that,” she said. “I wish we had a good number.”

Schmitz hopes to match a half-dozen or so landlords and tenants during the program's first phase. After a landlord has been vetted for eligibility by Jumpstart, Schmitz's office will provide a specific but nameless profile outlining a prospective tenant, including the prospect's credit and legal history.

If the landlord is willing to rent to the tenant, Community Recovery Center staff will arrange a meeting with the tenant and representatives from Jumpstart and the volunteer work groups.

Participating landlords must be the properties' pre-flood owner. Tenants must have been displaced by the flood and earn less than 300 percent of the federal poverty level - $32,490 for a single person, $66,150 for a family of four.

The program isn't likely to rescue many rentals, but Davis said it's a start. “I see that it could very well be a benefit for both parties and if we can make something like that happen I certainly want to encourage that,” she said.

Still, Davis worries more rentals will be lost than saved. “This is our second winter and a lot of those homes haven't got furnaces yet,” she said. “Are we going to regenerate the same number in our rental stock? We're not. That's just not going to happen.”