Feature

by Eliot Dobris
Photos by The Arc of San Francisco

Landlords looking for tenants who are quiet and respectful—and who truly appreciate their homes—may want to consider renting to people with developmental disabilities.

For the last six months, Nick, age 34, has rented a room in a modest three-bedroom flat in San Francisco’s Sunset District. Nick is a friendly, outgoing man who likes to dress in a sharp, brown-leather sport jacket. He has developmental disabilities, but they don’t prevent him from living independently or holding down a job—in fact, he has worked at the same large neighborhood grocery store for 10 years.

Nick doesn’t always speak in complete sentences, but his face lights up when he speaks about his landlord and his apartment. He smiles and says, “Nice guy. Nice landlord. His wife, too!”

Nick receives support in living independently from The Arc of San Francisco, a resource center for adults with developmental disabilities. Clients of The Arc have disabilities that occur before age 18 and last a lifetime, such as Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and autism.

Twice a week, Nick meets with Jody, an independent living skills instructor from The Arc. Nick and Jody meet at Nick’s apartment to make sure that the laundry is done, his room is clean, the bills are paid, and he and his roommates are getting along. Most landlords can only dream about tenants receiving that kind of outside oversight and attention. Part of Jody’s job is to help Nick deal with small problems—replacing light bulbs, making minor repairs and dividing chores among roommates—without involving the landlord. “Clients like Nick know they are different, and they really want to be like everyone else,” said Jody. “Having an apartment is an important way to be like everyone else. So they take the responsibility very seriously.”

One of the only problems that people with developmental disabilities can’t solve without the involvement of a landlord is finding a place to live. “San Francisco has an expensive and competitive rental market. Most people with developmental disabilities, including those with jobs, have limited incomes and need advocates and assistance,” explains Susan Suomi, residential services director for The Arc. “That said, once they find a place, it’s typically smooth sailing. With the right support, this is a population that offers very good tenants. At The Arc, we’ve never had a client evicted for not paying rent. Any good independent living program will make sure that its clients follow the landlord’s rules and pay their rent and bills on time. The landlords—they just have to be landlords. They don’t have to be a service provider. That’s our job.”

Nick shares his three-bedroom apartment with two other individuals with developmental disabilities. One of them is Terry, a 45-year-old man who has run the mailroom of a busy downtown office for the past 20 years. Terry is steady and low-key; he provides a nice balance to the more outgoing nature of his roommates.

Terry’s sister, Marion, a psychologist who has worked with individuals with developmental disabilities and their families for 30 years, is actively involved in her brother’s care. “Terry is very tuned in and quite bright. If you asked him to put something together he wouldn’t even need to read the instructions,” she notes. “But he wouldn’t know if a good salary was five-thousand or fifty-thousand dollars a year.”

In the 1980s, when Terry’s family felt he was ready to live independently, they went looking for a place for him to live. Marion says the search was “a little bit hit or miss at first,” but with help from The Arc, they found Quentin, a landlord and small business owner who lives in a two-unit building in the Sunset. “I had my reservations about this 20 years ago because I had never been involved with any people with developmental disabilities,” admits Quentin. “My wife said maybe we should give them a chance.”

The Arc helped Terry and his family find compatible roommates, who also have developmental disabilities, to share the apartment. Together, they pay market-rate rent. “For 20 years he has been happy in this apartment,” adds Marion. “This is a great opportunity for landlords who want to do some good with their properties—and get great tenants in return.”

For Quentin, the experience has also been positive. “If I had to do it all over again, I would do exactly the same thing. They have been very good tenants,” he says. “They all have employment. They are all monitored by people from The Arc. They don’t party. They’re quiet. They’re busy. I couldn’t really ask for better tenants than that, I don’t think.”

Quentin also appreciates having long-term tenants and the relatively low turnover among the roommates. Over the years, four other roommates, most of them people with developmental disabilities, have lived in the apartment. “When there was a new roommate to be picked, we gathered in a circle to talk about how to make the best choice,” stresses Marion. “When there have been occasional conflicts among the roommates, one of the guys will call the families or The Arc and we’ll help them work it out.”

Like many roommates in San Francisco, Nick, Terry and their third roommate cook and shop independently. They split the bills and chores and end up spending most of their time after work in their own rooms. Nick likes to watch sports. Terry likes to go to church and train for the Special Olympics.

“These people are gentle souls,” observes Marion. “The gratitude of each of these gentlemen for having a place where they can live independently has been so obvious. Terry is so grateful to have his own place that Quentin could ask anything of him and he’d be happy to help.”

Most people in San Francisco with developmental disabilities who want to live independently are not as lucky. In San Francisco, two organizations, The Arc and Toolworks, offer housing advocacy for this community. Both have more clients who are ready and able to live on their own than available housing. “Some people with developmental disabilities are able to support themselves through their work, and they rent market-rate apartments. Others rent through Section 8, in which the federal government subsidizes a portion of the rent for qualified low-income individuals. We can work with either system,” said Suomi.

She adds that while Section 8 sometimes carries a stigma for bringing problem tenants, this is rarely, if ever, the case for people with developmental disabilities. Nancy Brunn, The Arc’s housing advocate agrees. “Renting to clients of The Arc with Section 8 vouchers is an especially sound business decision for San Francisco landlords, as the rental subsidy is sent directly to the landlord. The balance due is overseen by each client’s instructor, to make sure the rent is paid on time, every time,” said Brunn.

San Francisco landlords and property managers who would like to learn more about renting to people with developmental disabilities can contact Brunn at The Arc at 415-255-7200 ext. 115, or Toolworks at 415-733-0990.

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the SFAA or SF Apartment Magazine. Eliot Dobris is a freelance writer and public relations consultant who lives in San Francisco. He can be reached at eliot@eliotdobris.com. Copyright © 2007 by SF Apartment Magazine. All rights reserved.