A survey of affordable senior housing providers conducted in early October by LeadingAge found that nearly 60% of respondents were aware of confirmed COVID-19 cases in their properties. Nearly 70% of affordable senior housing providers reported being financially strained due to the coronavirus pandemic, and 84% consider resident social isolation and access to services to be the top challenge in the next three months.
The survey was conducted by LeadingAge, an organization that represents more than 5,000 aging services providers, including federally subsidized senior housing communities with more than 2.5 million homes. The national survey was sent to LeadingAge members, many of whom provide affordable senior housing through Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, and the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
Thirty-eight percent of respondents reported confirmed COVID-19 cases in some of their properties, and an additional 22% reported confirmed COVID-19 cases in all of their properties. Over half of respondents (58%) described their organizations as financially strained due to the pandemic, and another 11% described their organizations as severely financially strained. Over half (51%) said that vacancy rates were higher at their properties because of COVID-19. Thirty-one percent of respondents noted that at least some payments from HUD had been delayed in the past 12 months.
The vast majority of affordable senior housing providers (84%) anticipated that keeping residents socially isolated would be a top challenge in the next three months, and nearly three fourths (71%) were concerned about health risks among residents. Over half (54%) indicated that employee morale and staffing levels would be a significant challenge. Twenty-one percent indicated that their properties were experiencing staffing issues due to confirmed or suspected cases among their staff. Nearly half (45%) indicated they were experiencing maintenance backlogs due to COVID-19 that would require at least a month to address.
LeadingAge indicates they plan to conduct this survey quarterly going forward.
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