.MjI1NQ.MjI1NQ

L.. I i 800 Families -Pl~~fit By Lea§ed Housing Private Enterprise Erects. Lownlncon1e HUD Apartn1ents By MARGARET HURST A clean, modest one-bedroom brick apartment seems nearly · palatial to a retired Atlanta coupl,e who lived, until two years ago, in an area of the city where "the rats came out every .,morning to .tell you h.ello." The Leroy Hendersons are one spent over $200 ,000 on renovaof 800 low-income families in tions, which included combining Atlanta who have found new two sm all apartments to make four- or five-bedroom uni ts. homes through the Leased RousThe advantage to the private ing program, a department of owner, Braswell said, is that . the Housing and Urban Develop- r..e is guaranteed 100 per cent ment (HUD) program that \Vhether the unit is occupied or allows priv ate enterprise to not. Braswell said th e authority build and lease housing to the does not move families out of Atlanta Housing Authority. apartm ents obtained under the\ Atlanta has the largest leas ing Leased Housing program, but program in the southeast and takes over the unit only after has leased 1,030 units since the a family leaves. program began in 19G5. Leased EVEN LOWER hcusing is rented to low income v Some families, he said, are families and HUD pays the allowed to stay in the aparthousing authority the difference ments and rent at a lower r ate between what the tenant can i£ they are qualified to rent afford to pay for rent and the from the hou sing au thority. Under the Leased Housing ,actual amount the authority pays to lease the un it from a program, local authorities can private owner. lease existing housing Jp,om priLESS THAN '11HRD vate owners for one to 10 years. The Hend ersons for example New housing is lea~ed for.'1ive rent their apart~ent for $2 3 -~ Y~~1:s with an opt~on for the month . Before the housing p11 vc1te ?wner to ren_w the leas~ aul'11ority leased the apartment et_ve1al·y fl10ve years for an addt~ ·t t 1011 years. . By letting private businesses comp 1ex, t1~e Scme apai men rrnted fo r $, 9 a month. build, own and lease the prop- 1 Atlanta's leased he¥s ing is erty, Bryan said, the program scattered in eight locations helps the cities (because the over the city. The ap:irtment owners continue to pay properity complexes ha,,e plushy names taxes), loca l lending institutions, Uke Suburban Court, LaViHa the builders and the low income Apartments, Lakewood Vill age tenants. Bryan said Atlanta and three and Amanda Gardens and two of the compl exes have swim- oth er Georgi a cities are receiv. ming pools. The average rent is ing in excess of $1 million a year v from $30 to $35 a month . under the Leased Housing program. Carrollton , Hinesville and One of the advan tages of Marietta already are p2.rticipatleased housing, according to ing in the program, he sa id , and Morris Bryan, chief of the East Point, Decatur and DeLeased Housing section in Kalb County have gotten conHUD's Atlanta office , is th at bracts within th e last 6') days. the complexes don't have that Many more Geo rgia cities are "housing proj ect look" and expec:tecl to go und er contrnct. many tenants who would n' t live within the next 30 to 90 · dc1ys, in a proj ec t will li ve in the Bryan said. lease d housing. IT'S "INSTANT" The Leased Housing program is called "Instant Housing" beca use housing auth orif.ies can lease already existing housing- ' new or old-and move families ri ght into the unit. Aiilanta needs more three, four ~nd five-bedroom apartme nts, eccording to Ray Braswell, leased housing manager for the Atlanta Housing Authority, and the Lease d Housing program can provide th em. In one apartm ent i compl ex, he said, the l)Wners II ..___.__ i ·I t .. 1! ,_ I �