An Albemarle County Police Department program that allows landlords to evict problem tenants more easily is catching on. About seven apartment communities in the County have been certified as “Crime Free Multi-Housing” and police estimate another two dozen will seek certifications. Critics say it might make finding housing even more difficult for poorer or comparatively unstable tenants.
Crime Free is a national program, begun in Arizona, that encourages police to hold meetings and communicate with landlords, then “certify” property owners who hold tenants to stricter standards. Tenants at certified housing also sign a Crime Free lease addendum.
When police get a complaint—for anything from noise to domestic abuse to drugs—they fill out a small card for the landlord or property manager, regardless of whether an arrest is made. “We get the list of calls for [police] service,” says Cathy Stead, property manager at Mallside Forest Apartments, located near Fashion Square Mall. “We’re able to discipline quicker.”
Being crime free is a plus for tenants, landlords say. Officer Elizabeth Morris, with the Neighborhood Resource Unit in Albemarle, agrees: “It’s an attractive seller.”
But some worry that in Albemarle, which has no public housing, tenants who might be evicted after police contact will get pushed to the margins. Ron White, Albemarle County Housing Director, says he tries to read between the lines: “Does [the program] give landlords an option of evicting tenants that they would otherwise like to evict, but they don’t have a reason to?” he wonders. Mallside has had seven or eight Crime Free-related evictions since January, says Stead.
That might be good for landlords, but Noah Schwartz, executive director of the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, says the program “segments the population,” which means that tenants who behave better get into a better spot. Schwartz, whose organization runs the City’s public housing, says, “It will make it harder for our clients. Any additional requirements for residency make it harder than it is now… This is a poverty issue.”
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