TAA Provides Hurricane Resources for Members and Renters

Business Wire, Sept 10, 2008

AUSTIN, Texas -- As weather reports indicate that Hurricane Ike is headed for the Texas coast, the Texas Apartment Association reminds the public of hurricane resources available for rental housing professionals and renters.

The "Industry" section of the TAA website includes a page dedicated to "Hurricane awareness" (www.taa.org/member/industry/hurricaneAwareness), with specific resources related to:

1. Disaster preparedness

* Disaster Preparedness Guidelines (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/disaster% 20preparation guidelines.pdf), which were developed by TAA's general counsel and include specific information for rental housing owners regarding preparation for a natural disaster and crisis planning

* Notice to Community Residents about Hurricane Warning (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/notice to community residents about hurricane warning.pdf), which includes a form developed by TAA to provide information to your residents in advance of a hurricane, as well as a disaster preparedness guide from FEMA and the American Red Cross

* Preparation Information from the Texas Extension Disaster Education Network (http://texashelp.tamu.edu/004-natural/hurricanes.php), and

* Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness (http://www.fema.gov/pdf/areyouready/areyouready_full.pdf), which is a very detailed guide to disaster preparedness developed by FEMA.

2. Property damage and other post-disaster issues

* Rental Housing Owners Rights and Legal Responsibilities After a Natural Disaster (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/rental housing owners rights and legal responsibilities after a natural disaster.pdf), an article from TAA's 2008-09 REDBOOK, and

* Q&A Regarding Property Damage Caused by a Natural Disaster (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/q&a regarding property damage caused by a natural disaster.doc).

3. Notices and forms that members can use to communicate with their residents both before and after a natural disaster

* Emergency Post-Disaster Notice to Our Residents (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/emergency post disaster notice to our residents.doc)

* Lease Addendum for Temporary Increase of Occupancy (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/lease addendum allowing temporary increased occupancy because of fire or natural disaster.doc) and Information Sheet for Occupants (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/ information sheet for occupants.pdf)

* Termination Notice Due to Natural Disaster (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/ termination notice due to natural disaster.doc)

* Sample Letter to Residents Regarding Housing Assistance Before Rent Is Due (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane% 20resources/sample letter to residents regarding housing assistance before rent is due.doc)

* Sample Letter to residents Regarding Housing Assistance Post Rent Due (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/sample letter to residents regarding housing assistance post rent due.doc), and

* Lease Addendum for Residents Receiving Direct Assistance from FEMA Due to Natural Disaster (http://www.taa.org/assets/PDF/Hurricane resources/lease addendum for residents receiving direct assistance from fema due to natural disaster.doc).

(Due to the length of URLs above, it may be necessary to copy and paste them into your Internet browser's URL address field. You may also need to remove an extra space in the URL if one exists.)

"Many of the resources we have developed are tried and tested, and were used by rental housing owners who were affected during Hurricane Rita, as well as by those who housed hurricane evacuees after Hurricanes Rita and Katrina," said George B. Allen, CAE, TAA Executive Vice President. "While we certainly are hoping that our rental housing owners won't need these resources, we want to ensure that they are well prepared in the event of a disaster, like Hurricane Ike."

In addition to posting information on its website, TAA is communicating directly with its members in areas that may be impacted by Hurricane Ike, encouraging them to make use of these valuable resources.

TAA has also posted resources for renters on the "Disaster Preparedness and Response" page of its website's "Renter Info" section (www.taa.org/renterinfo/disaster-preparedness).

The Texas Apartment Association is a trade association representing rental housing owners, managers and companies that supply services to the rental housing industry. The Austin-based association has more than 10,000 members who own or manage more than 1.7 million rental housing units in Texas. TAA has 25 local affiliated associations in markets around the state.