Refugee Call Goes Out To Landlords

I thought there was an affordable housing crisis in New Haven?

Given a fair rent for a large apartment to be occupied by a large family (lots of wear and tear), the $15K for a year's rent offered by CT UNITE does not make it work for landlords. Lamont and Parker have been deliberately hurting landlords for two years, now they want help? Continued eviction delays and now free lawyers for tenants all show Lamont wants to hurt housing providers. Any landlord who trusts him and his allies is a fool.

One thing to remember: these people have put their lives on the line to help our troops & civilian contractors over there. They face the real threat of retaliation by the Taliban who are not known for their forgiving nature. I say we owe these refugees the chance to escape & resettle.

1644--- you are so right. Landlords have been screwed in housing court for years and now they are asked to bend over again?!?!? Not a chance!!

Pat from Westville--- why don't you open your home to them? You think you owe but you want ME to take the risk??-- Not just.

On the other side-- is there a location to make furniture donations for the families??

Dennis - there is. This is a cry of desperation.

1644 - the risk is mitigated specifically by IRIS co-signing.

City Yankee - yes. Donate to IRIS directly.

With regards to rent - there is no risk. IRIS is committed to taking these families in and helping them, and there are hundreds of Connecticut residents trying to help them integrate into American society. It won't be easy. Their life was brutally snatched away by our government's failure in a single month. These refugees are the lucky ones who escaped. Thousands more did not, some of whom are friends or relatives of these refugees.

To your words of "well why don't you open up your home?' That's actually exactly what my family did. I'm looking at an Afghan refugee watching a children's show with my children right now as I type this. We volunteered our own home to help the family of a friend in need in order to take the burden off of IRIS and landlords.

In the meantime our American refugees living along the West river have no one trying to find them a home and pay the rent. This is America!

Pat from Westville: Some of these refugees have put their lives on the line, but many have not. A large number, probably the majority, did not work for us, but just made personal choices or did work for private entities that put them at odds with the current government.

MisstheMark-- I congratulate you for putting yourself out there. I hope works out for you. Please write again to follow up as you may inspire others. As a landlord to AMericans, I have been burned so many times that I would have a hard time trusting any other renter. I also do not believe that IRIS will foot the bill for damage to the unit. Section 8 says EVERYTHING is normal wear and tear so good luck to you!

As for donating to Iris-- I called Iris about some used furniture to donate. It is not beat stuff; either. They were not interested-- all they want is money. Are the refugees going to sleep on bags of dough?

MissTheMark; The risk is mitigated but far from eliminated. What happens when the lease ends but the tenants have no income, or not enough income to pay their rent and other expenses? What if there are damages? Lamont will give them a free lawyer to drag the eviction process out for a year or more, plying the judge with sob stories or not wanted to put an unfortunate family out on the street. The over-riding rule in housing court is that no good deed goes unpunished.

Dennis, there is a shortage of affordable housing, which is why the influx of refugees is such a challenge for IRIS. In the past, IRIS placed many refugees in East Rock. Since IRIS is in the neighborhood, this made it easy for refugees to access its services. I've lived in East Rock 30+ years and have been active in the CMT for most of that time. With very few exceptions, the refugees have been good neighbors.

With rising rents in the neighborhood, IRIS can no longer do this and is finding it challenging to find affordable apartments elsewhere in the city. Many of the newer refugees live in West Haven (which is close to the New Haven Islamic Center and halal grocery in Orange).

1644, landlords are free to accept or reject refugee families. My sense, based on limited information, is that most end up being good tenants. But ultimately, it's the landlord's call as to who to take on as tenants.

Finally, kudos to Ms. Lawson. I think her humane attitude is common in the city.

This is where the "rubber hits the road" regarding how we go forward, as humans, to help people from all over the world.

Some wish for others to experience the "American Exceptionalism" we are often evangelized about. I do.

The housing crisis in New Haven is awful - for long-time residents and tax payers in the community. Of course, that needs to be addressed, but let's not lose perspective here. Can one in New Haven, no matter how challenged, imagine the utter hell of people living in or trying to flee a place like present-day Afghanistan?

They want to pay below market, want to only co-sign for a year, which if you have problems with the tenant is about the same amount of time if you're lucky (I'm exaggerating a tiny bit) that it takes to evict them. Then if the apartment has been ruined, you end up negative money. And will we even be allowed to evict these tenants? Do they have social security numbers?

after the last year of abuse, it's just safer and easier to not rent to People unless we're sure of them. .

It's a sad situation, but politicians never understand that their actions have consequences.

1644 - "Some of these refugees have put their lives on the line, but many have not. A large number, probably the majority, did not work for us, but just made personal choices or did work for private entities that put them at odds with the current government."

That is absolutely not correct and is a grossly unfair talking point.

The preponderance of the refugees are linked to the GIROA regime. Many of them were regular bureaucrats and middle-class citizens who worked for the regime in mundane jobs. People in those positions back in Afghanistan are being 'disappeared' nightly only to end up dead in front of their house the next morning - doesn't matter if they were shopkeepers who sold goods to the government or police officers who prosecuted the Taliban. At the end of the day, the Taliban will punish anyone who was in any way shape or form affiliated with the GIROA. The risk to Afghans fleeing isn't due to "personal choices or [...] work for private entities."

Due to the murdery inclinations of the Taliban (who are a hard-core religious movement dominated almost entirely by one ethnicity in a country that had dozens of them) and their persecution of members and supporters of the GIROA, practically everyone who CAN leave is leaving, or trying to leave - to say nothing of the thousands of US citizens and green card holders we left behind.

manofthepeople - "Do they have social security numbers?"

Yes as well as authorization to work.

MissTheMark - I get it. New Haven and it's residents are very generous and welcoming, but at some point other towns need to step up. How many families are moving into Chris Murphy's home town? How many - please provide an answer.

Let's face it, there is a significant population of poor New Haveners (veterans, minorities) who have made significant contributions to our city and country and desperately need help and can't get it. And the reality is that the cost of the housing is a fraction of the cost to support these individuals. Where is the money going to come from for the wrap around services, and education costs? The burden of educating children who don't speak English is enormous. Those costs will fall upon already overburdened New Haven taxpayers - taxpayers who already lack basic services.

Let Ned and the other politico's calculate the total economic cost of settling the refugees and have him fund it and you've got my support.

Kevin - I have no doubt the refugees will be good neighbors. I met an Afghan family in Edgewood Park over the summer. One of the young girls had been here about 2 years and had already mastered English. She was extremely bright and wanted to study medicine. She could very well grow up to become a doctor and practice in New Haven. We should welcome these families. But the politicos should fund it - not rely on New Haven taxpayers.

Chris Murphy and other comes to mind when I say politicos, but there are too many to list. How many families is Chris Murphy's home town sponsoring?

Dennis, thanks. I'm a long-time IRIS volunteer, not a staffer. But to the best of my knowledge, their programs get no city funding. They do get funding from the federal and state governments (and the state and federal pay the majority of New Haven's educational costs). IRIS primarily works in the New Haven area. Other organizations, notably Catholic Charities, serve the Hartford area where Sen. Murphy is from. I know that Afghan refugees are being resettled in Hartford, I don't know how many. Previously, hundreds of Bosnian refugees were resettled there during the Yugoslav civil war.

1644, many of the Afghan refugees coming in now are arriving on Special Immigration Visas. They are, in fact, the families of translators and others who worked for the U.S. and whose lives are being threatened because of this. The translators, etc. were vetted before employment and were thus were further along in the resettlement process, which often takes years before a refugee can come to the U.S.

CY2, IRIS welcomes donations of furniture and household goods (in good condition). As noted in the article, they don't take mattresses. Here is their donations webpage. https://irisct.org/in-kind-donations-2/.
(As the page notes, while IRIS is on Nicoll Street, the driveway is on Willow next to the gas station.)

We live in a state where, in the vast majority of towns, building rental housing is effectively illegal. I'd be impressed by a governor who did something about THAT. This press conference is a friggin' joke, begging the private sector to solve a problem created by government.

Kevin McCarthy: Everyone agrees that we have a special obligation to those translators who served alongside out troops, and their immediate families. Missthemark, however, says most of the refugees worked for the corrupt Afghan government. A lot of news reports also mention those who worked for NGOs, western news organizations, a soccer team, etc., not the US government. I am sure that most will be great tenants. Many will be okay tenants, with large families causing a high degree of wear and tear on buildings, lawns, etc. High rents would compensate for the damage, low rents would mean a loss. Then, there will be the terrible tenants who will cause a great deal of uncompensated damage, and with the legislature's and courts' encouragement, squat for many months causing huge losses. Just a bad money drives out good, bad tenants keep good tenants from getting housing at a fair price.

i worked as a tutor to an Afghan family for several years. They are extremely hospitable, respectful, hard working, clean, & grateful to be in the US. They look forward to becoming US citizens one day. In my opinion, there is little risk in renting to an Afghan family. They are lovely people who will be an asset to our community.

This is from a recent NHI article. Again, New Haven is a welcoming community but people need to readjust their expectations when asking the working and middle class New Haven taxpayers to continue to sacrifice:

Frankly, I found this oped a bit obnoxious.
Coalition Of Immigrant Women Presses City For Housing Help

We propose that the City spend a portion of American Rescue Plan money on the following two measures:

Dennis,

You seem to be making an unwarranted distinction between the refugees that New Haven is welcoming and 'taxpayers' who cover the 'burden' of educating and supporting said refugees.

Refugees are taxpayers, and their presence in New Haven and beyond is not a net loss, or a cost that the so-called rest of us have to bear. When the Trump administration conducted a study to justify its rationale for reducing the number of refugee admissions, it found instead that refugees brought in $63 more in government revenues over the previous decade than they cost. Needless to say that this was not what Trump wanted to hear, and his administration quietly quashed the report.

Of course, when we encounter someone in dire straits and are in a position to help, we (hopefully) don't ask what the economic benefit will be to us before stepping in to help, but it looked like you needed some clarification in this regard. 'Let Ned and the other politico's calculate the total economic cost of settling the refugees and have him fund it and you've got my support,' you remarked. Hopefully this helps!

Correction: refugees brought in $63 MILLION more in government revenues over the previous decade than they cost.

A not insubstantial difference. ☺️

06511...no it doesnt help because you missed the main point of my argument: that the cost falls disproportionately on the New Haven taxpayers.

Dennis,

I have stated, and the evidence shows, that refugees - through the taxes that they pay as both individuals and business owners - contribute to government revenue in the long run. They do not subtract from it. This applies both nationally and locally. So what 'cost' are you referring to here?

CT has an affordable housing crisis, and soon an eviction newly homeless crisis and a homeowner foreclosure crisis. Many landlords lost income during the eviction moratorium. These refugees and immigrants are struggling to find affordable housing just like the rest of the poor and lower middle classes. Many of these new residential builds and rehabs and remodeled housing is at market rate sales and rent prices. It puts more pressure on the neighboring landlords to fix up their units to capture the market rents tenants for their buildings, which gentrified the neighborhood and pushes out the previously more reasonable units. Our public housing and government sponsored affordable housing is aging and not being maintained and torn down. Our cities and large towns have the social services and public transportation and jobs that immigrants and refugees need to make their transition to American citizen easier. The suburbs lack the social services and transportation and sewers and public water systems needed to support multi unit buildings. So the States and the Federal government need to reassess the future of public housing and affordable housing and work towards finding a solution that makes sense and guarantee decent housing as a human right.
We are coming to a crisis, and like the Great Depression, we may need to experience that crisis before we as a nation take action and insist on a change.

06511 - if the 'evidence' you show was so convincing then every municipality in the state would be fighting to provide housing to this population, and the state wouldn't need to be pleading for help. The reality is that there is a large upfront cost to this project and the benefits often take decades. The only taxes paid in New Haven are property taxes. Any other taxes are paid at the state and federal level and never make their way to New Haven in sufficient amounts to improve the City.

Dennis,


"if the 'evidence' you show was so convincing then every municipality in the state would be fighting to provide housing to this population"

There are indeed groups of volunteers from every corner of Connecticut who work with IRIS to resettle refugees. There is no dearth of stories about struggling neighborhoods revitalized by the influx of refugees. The problem is that cities tend to be the best point of entry for folks coming here with no personal modes of transportation and in need of affordable housing and decent job opportunities.

"The reality is that there is a large upfront cost to this project and the benefits often take decades."

I was going to mention the many obvious and immediate benefits that New Haven obtains from welcoming immigrants, from amazing restaurants to vibrant cultural events to small businesses that wouldn't otherwise exist in our city. The bottom line is that that the benefits to welcoming refugees take exactly the amount of time required to get to know one.

But again, who cares? Refugees are already required to pay back the cost of the plane fare that brought them to this country - having to prove their 'benefit' to you or me is a price that none of them should be asked to pay.

1644, I suspect the Taliban will not distinguish between someone who worked directly for the U.S. government, a U.S.contractor, or the former Afghan government, which the Taliban viewed as a U.S. puppet. (Lawyers who make such distinctions are scarce in current government.) The question is to what extent is the person's life at risk. I doubt the Taliban will go after letter carriers for the Afghani Post Office. But the risk posed to former Afghan officials who held senior/sensitive positions is ultimately tied to the decision of the U.S. to invade Afghanistan.

I always feel like there is a fair amount of bluster around these topics and many of the folks doing the blustering do not really know anything about what is happening. Do you know how much they are paying for 2 BR apartment or what the terms of the leases are? Do you know where all of the funding for this program is coming from? (Not all of this is federal and state dollars)

Anyone who disagrees with this program does not have any sense of what is right. WE, the American people, have made it untenable for these folks to live in their own country. We have welcomed them into our country because of our empathy and also for their service to us. The risk was and is real for them and their families. My cousin did several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan and you cannot imagine the stories he has about the translators and guides who saved their lives multiple times.

As a landlord, I am more than happy to rent to a nationally respected non-profit that is paying close enough to market rate rent that it is not too much of an inconvenience and I get to fulfill a patriotic duty while making money and looking really good to everyone. Please stop filling the comments section with negativity.

06511:

"I was going to mention the many obvious and immediate benefits that New Haven obtains from welcoming immigrants, from amazing restaurants to vibrant cultural events to small businesses that wouldn't otherwise exist in our city."

I think this is great, I really do, but it doesn't pay the bills and unfortunately New Haven is $2 billion in debt and bankrupt.

justchecking: I tried calling IRIS this afternoon to inquire as to terms, but got no answer, just phone tree and answering machine. Besides, rents and terms, I would want to know if landlords can screen, or if IRIS expects owners to accept anyone it sends. I certainly feel more sense of obligation to the translators who were in the shit with our troops than those who sought a comfortable life in Kabul.

1644, I'm tangentially involved with this aspect of IRIS. I'll reach out to the relevant staffer and see what I can find out. I believe it is fair to say that (1) IRIS does not expect landlords to accept anyone who it sends and (2) leases are typically for 12 months. (I have no specific knowledge on these points.)

As the article notes, the timeline for IRIS to find housing has dropped dramatically. They routinely get 48 hours notice or less of an arrival. A further complication is that many of the Afghan families are large and need 3+ bedrooms. As you know, such apartments are scarce, affordable ones doubly so. The IRIS staff are working flat out, which probably accounts for their lack of response to your call.

justchecking, thanks.

One wonderful (non-taxpayer) source of support for the refugees is IRIS' partnership program. Churches, synagogues, mosques, and other community groups sponsor a refugee family under the program. There are dozens of such groups across the state, which help IRIS provide its wide range of services. More information about the program is available at https://irisct.org/communitycosponsorship/

Dennis, let me try again. If there is a house fire, the NHFD will respond regardless of whether the residents are refugees, immigrants, or U.S. born. And under the state constitution, all kids are entitled to public education regardless of where they were born. But your property tax dollars and mine are not going to IRIS for its housing program.

Kevin, with all due respect you are missing the point. There are costs outside of the housing and those costs are paid by property taxes bc the state doesnt give nearly enough to cover the education costs of children who dont speak english. Those are facts.

Dennis, there are lots of people who cost more in government services than they pay in taxes. With regard to the property tax, this is true for most families with 2+ school age kids. With regard to federal taxes, this is true for most people over 70, which may include you and eventually me. (Over a lifetime, most people receive more in Social Security/Medicare benefits than they paid in taxes for them, counting inflation and interest on the taxes they paid.) If everyone were able to consistently cover their own costs, there would be less need for government.

Dennis,

So if I have this right, you want to live in a vibrant, culturally diverse city where all the kids speak English and everyone owns their housing?

Kevin - I agree. But that too is not my point. My point is that the NH Taxpayer is bearing a disproportionate cost of helping these individuals. And yes, these poor souls need our help and I will help outside of my tax dollars. But New Haven simply can not afford to continue to bear the cost of the regions and states social challenges. The city, unlike, the feds can't print more money. All I am is saying is we should be honest about the economics.

06511; sorry, but you have this wrong as well. I do appreciate and respect a culturally diverse city and I would like to see our schools get to the point where our kids are reading and writing English at grade level, but it's not realistic to expect everyone to want or be able to own their own housing. I do believe the city has an obligation to prioritize the needs of our less fortunate long-term residents, especially our african-american residents, who have faced discrimination in employment and housing.

Dennis, immigrant families of a century ago often dd not pay their way in property taxes. (At that time all of the costs of public education were borne locally.). Should they have been discouraged from living here?

Kevin..you keep trying different arguments but the truth is that in the year 2021 New Haven taxpayers share a disproportionate cost in these instances. And everyone knows it.

Dennis, the bulk of the public sector costs of supporting the refugees, including education, is coming from the federal and state governments. Like other lawful U.S. residents, low income refugees are eligible for Medicaid, food stamps, etc. And the federal government pays a large share of IRIS' budget. I have no problems with this. At the same time, I am a New Haven homeowner and am acutely aware of the inequities of using the property tax to fund local government. But state aid just for education accounts for nearly one quarter of city General Fund revenues (the city also receives substantial state and federal aid for other purposes).

To: 1644, I work at IRIS and can try to answer some of your questions regarding landlords. We are very grateful to the people we've worked with; landlords are free not to help or take on any refugees if they don't want to. The lease is for year; landlords set the price, although we certainly try to negotiate if they are not asking for a fair price. Please do email any questions to [email protected]. We have a lean staff who are working flat out to help and sometimes callers do get a phone tree. Thank you!

To: 1644, I work at IRIS and can try to answer some of your questions regarding landlords. We are very grateful to the people we've worked with; landlords are free not to help or take on any refugees if they don't want to. The lease is for a year; landlords set the price, although we certainly negotiate if they are not asking for a fair price. Please email your questions to [email protected]. We have a lean staff who are working flat out to help and sometimes callers do get a phone tree. Thank you!