QUESTION
How do 311 complaint rates compare to detailed surveys and tenant support initiatives?
1:35:17
·
3 min
Only about 40% of tenants who experienced heating issues reported them via 311, highlighting potential underreporting and the importance of proactive measures.
- Elyzabeth Gaumer discusses integrating proactive approaches to uncover issues not detected by 311 complaints.
- A 2021 survey about heating breakdowns shows significant underreporting through 311, with only 40% of affected tenants making a complaint.
- The Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) prioritizes complementary reactive and proactive strategies to address tenant issues more effectively.
- Despite the underreporting, the number of 311 complaints regarding housing issues remains steady or increases, leading to the department enhancing its inspector team.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
1:35:17
But taking taking you up on that on that point for stability, tenant support units, HP HBS's, you know, richness of data and and avail of of availability, ability to to merge this information, does the agency have a sense of how 311 complaint rates compared to something that is more thorough like the HVS or tenant support going through an entire building.
Elyzabeth Gaumer
1:35:42
You wanna Olster?
1:35:44
Yeah.
1:35:44
I'll start.
1:35:46
So thank you.
1:35:47
I mean, I think that's the critical piece to the shift with integrating proactive approaches, right, is to try to figure out what aren't we reaching and how can we effectively reach them.
1:35:59
So we're approaching that on the data side from a number of perspectives.
1:36:03
The one thing that I can share that I think maybe is a good indicator, although not a robust full analysis of this.
1:36:12
In our interview with occupants And this we haven't looked at this yet for 23, but I can speak to it from 21.
1:36:21
One of the items that we always ask about is heating breakdowns, right, which for us is self reported information on lacking heat for 6 hours or more in the prior winter.
Ahmed Tigan
1:36:35
Mhmm.
Elyzabeth Gaumer
1:36:35
Right?
1:36:36
And what we did for 21 and also for 23.
1:36:41
Although what I'm gonna explain and share is from our 21 survey, We then followed up with anyone who said, yes.
1:36:47
I didn't have heat last winter at least once.
1:36:50
We we asked them directly.
1:36:51
We said, did you call 311 about the problem?
1:36:56
And only about 40% of the people who had reported to us that they had a heating briding breakdown said that they'd call through and learn about the problem.
1:37:05
So you can imagine that that's that's a pretty dramatic potentially underreporting.
1:37:11
That's also not to say that if they had called and we had gone out that we maybe would have actually verified that the temperature right or it hadn't been restored in the meantime, where the temperature was such where it was prime for an emergency violation.
1:37:25
I mean, there are many things that are a little different about that, but it just gives you a sense of the scale of how important complementing the reactive with proactive is.
Ahmed Tigan
1:37:34
And again, I don't have exact numbers with me, but we have seen 301 complaints that we've received.
1:37:42
Continue to stay steady or go up.
1:37:45
It's the reason why we were refocused on at least graduating 3 more teams of inspectors over the last years.
1:37:54
It's the reason why as an agency, we prioritize our work with DCAS, especially around our inspectors and construction managers.
1:38:00
To be able to do that work.
1:38:02
So we have more inspectors on the team as a result of following this data and seeing 301 being very important.
1:38:09
And ERP charges and making sure that we do we're getting the work done either by the owner or ourselves.
Pierina Ana Sanchez
1:38:17
Thank you.
1:38:17
That that is really that's really striking a 40% 40 only 40% calling 311 about heating issues.
1:38:24
I think this is and we know that some communities under report more than others.
1:38:28
So I suspect mine is one of them.
1:38:30
Lower income communities just under report.
