Houston could shift the way it funds independent senior living facilities in a bid to encourage developers and landlords to improve disaster preparations and plans, the city’s housing director said this week.
“HCD sees substantial value in prioritizing applications that incorporate comprehensive safety and preparedness models,” Housing and Community Development Director Mike Nichols told the Houston Landing in an email Wednesday. “By encouraging developers to adopt advanced preparedness practices, we aim to fortify our future housing stock against future natural disasters or threats.”
Nichols said his department has increased its engagement with property management groups and is “emphasizing the critical need for robust Disaster Preparedness Plans.” The city also is “exploring innovative approaches to improve our damage assessments, including the integration of advanced technologies such as drone footage” as part of its effort to boost accountability for independent living facilities post-Beryl.
The city’s efforts follow reporting by the Houston Landing about residents at some complexes struggling amid squalid conditions in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, two months after Mayor John Whitmire had publicly pledged to tighten accountability on landlords who failed to prepare for disasters or provide adequate relief to their tenants.
RELATED: The city said it would hold damaged senior homes accountable after derecho. Then Beryl hit.
It also coincides with calls from other local officials to boost regulation and oversight of independent living facilities.
State Rep. Armando Walle, D-Houston, who represents District 140 in northeast Houston, called for increased regulation from city, state and federal officials.
Unlike nursing homes and assisted living facilities that provide higher levels of care, independent living facilities are not certified by the state, do not require state licenses and face scant oversight from regulators in comparison.
“For unregulated senior living communities that are largely unregulated but do get federal dollars, there needs to be some mechanism that says in order for you to receive these funds, you have to have a plan for those seniors and disabled tenants, so they’re not going it alone post-disaster,” Walle said.
At least 32 independent living facilities across Houston receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding through the city.
“There’s definitely a role for the city to play,” Walle said. “Ultimately, it’s the federal government that needs to implement measures for private entities receiving federal funds.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Houston field office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Walle said he plans to re-file HB1268 during next year’s legislative session, which would have required landlords to relocate tenants to comparably priced housing if they suffered damage to their apartments caused by negligent property management, during Texas’ next legislative session. The bill stalled in committee and never received a vote during the 2023 session.
EARLIER: Officials target landlords who ‘abandoned’ disabled seniors during Houston power outage
After the May 16 derecho killed power at several Houston-area independent living facilities, Whitmire blasted property owners for the conditions and lack of emergency preparedness at the facilities.
“Part of our going forward will be to identify them, hold them accountable, and prevent that,” Whitmire said during a May 21 news conference.
The Houston Landing found little had changed two months later when Hurricane Beryl hit the region, causing new damage to some of those facilities and knocking out power to more than 2 million residents for days.
Nichols acknowledged after Beryl that the city did not have a way to monitor group homes – even those that received funding through the city – for damage and emergency preparedness plans.
In his email Thursday, Nichols said the city is “actively exploring solutions to enhance oversight and accountability across our Independent Living Communities, ensuring their resilience and security and look forward to sharing more details soon.”
City Councilmember Abbie Kamin echoed the call for increased oversight.
Earlier this week, the District C council member asked the mayor’s office for an update on the city’s efforts to boost accountability for independent living facilities, including whether officials had “identified reasonable disaster preparedness requirements.”
“My motivation for submitting these questions is to get answers for the constituents of my district,” Kamin said.
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