Will renting to a Police Officer help the complex??

Question

I was thinking about renting a unit out a little below market in exchange for a police person living there for presence.Would make the rift rafts go elsewhere is my reasoning.

Another question is if you evict a tenant and the sheriff is there for you to throw their stuff out what happens if they are still there and they have a dangerous dog?? How do you handle that??

I just read the Housing Authority manual for Section 8 for Fulton county Ga.It was 357 pages and is updated yearly.It mentions you can do section 8 on manufactured homes but they have to be tied down.

Does this include trailers as well?

Thanks for everyone's thoughts.Every day is a learning day.

Kyle Meyers · Answer

As for renting to a cop, no, it will not help your complex. Screen them just like anyone else, and charge them the same rent as everyone else. I know of a complex where a police officer is one of the worst residents and causes problems there. Also, in some areas discrimination based on occupation is illegal, and offering a lower rate because they are a cop could be considered discrimination.

I have not dealt with a dangerous dog, but I would assume that is one of the reasons the sheriff is there. If your movers can't get the tenant's stuff out with the dog in the way the sheriff would likely force the tenant to remove the dog, or maybe have animal control come out to take it. Again, I don't know, but I would guess the sheriff would figure out a way to handle it without too much difficulty.

Don't know about the section 8 trailers.

Matt T. · Answer

Joel, I was a Deputy Sheriff until 2006 and received a 50% discount from the complex in which I lived.  I did a few laps around the parking lot, checked offices and took care of any issues I saw along the way.  Did it stop crime?  Not by a long shot.  Did it reduce it some?  Probably.  It did not stop cars from being broken into and other crime that happen anywhere you have a large group living in close proximity.

I'd say, more than anything, it gave some residence a sense of security; whether real or just perceived.  Without knowing how many units the complex is and the neighborhood it would be tough to determine whether or not it would be worth while.  My complex was about 200 units so it was probably worth it to them.  In a complex of 20 or less units I'd say, at least in my area, it probably wouldn't.

I never ran into the dangerous dog situation during an eviction but dealt with it on other occasions.  At my department, if the eviction was scheduled it was going to happen, dog or no dog.  We would have called out animal control to deal with the dog while we dealt with the tenant and you dealt with moving their belongings to the curb.  If the tenant interfered with the process they would have been arrested (IA has a great charge of "Interference with Official Acts").  Could be a totally different situation in your area.