Reliable Enterprises is located at 203 W. Reynolds Ave, in Centralia.
Reliable Enterprises is located at 203 W. Reynolds Ave, in Centralia.
A local program aimed at helping landlords connect with potential tenants from at-risk populations will look for a boost from the city of Centralia in the form of a request for $8,000 from the city council on Tuesday.
Reliable Enterprises recently launched its own version of the Rent Well Tenant Education Course, a program started by Portland housing nonprofit Transition Projects where those with poor rental histories and other risk factors take classes on how to be a desirable renter.
Graduates of the program receive a certificate of completion and ongoing support from the organization leading the course as they work to connect with landlords who have shown an interest in working with potential tenants they might not have otherwise considered for an open rental property.
Brett Mitchell, executive director of Reliable Enterprises, said his organization has completed one Rent Well class with tenants of its own housing complexes and that it made a noticeable difference within those properties.
“It’s everything from how to take care of your place, how to manage your finances and how to engage with landlords when a problem arises,” Mitchell said. “How to be a successful renter if you follow the rules. If you’re a private landlord who would consider renting to a population that is risky by nature, this would provide at least the beginnings of an understanding that whomever you’re talking to has an idea of what they’re getting into and how to handle it.”
Mitchell hopes to use funding from the Centralia City Council to continue building connections with local landlords and scale the program up to include participants not already involved in Reliable Enterprises programming. The organization has also reached out to the United Way for assistance, according to a letter submitted to the Centralia City Council and City Manager Rob Hill.
Their request to the city council has at least one supporter in Peter Abbarno. Mayor Lee Coumbs has also been an active supporter of Reliable Enterprises.
Abbarno used his position on the council in January to initiate the transfer of $7,072 added to the 2019-2020 city budget through a property tax increase from the general fund to the community projects account that would fund the $8,000 request.
“The program Reliable Enterprises is putting together, I think it can have a huge impact in our community,” Abbarno said. “It can not only help people learn to be good tenants, but it incentivizes landlords to work with the program. The expense of evicting someone is so high, I tell landlords who are my clients that if they can work out an agreement with a tenant, they should do it. I think this project would be perfect for those funds and I hope the council votes in favor of it.”
One area in which Mitchell would like to increase the impact of the Rent Well program is with disadvantaged families. He said he wants to increase the ability of Pat Soderquist, who works with the Centralia School District to assist homeless students, to help those families find stable housing.
Mitchell’s hope is that as more community nonprofits and shelter agencies become aware of the Rent Well program and see some of their own clients go through the process, they’ll be able to work together to close the gap between available rental units and the number of people qualified to rent them.
“We don’t really have any feedback until we actually do this,” Mitchell said. “We need something landlords can grab onto, showing that it would be a benefit to them: a head in a bed that pays rent.”
