Aristocrat Manor Apartments charges low-income tenants $25 lockout fee

The Aristocrat Manor Apartments. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record
The Aristocrat Manor Apartments. - File photo by The Sentinel-Record

A recent notice informing elderly, low-income tenants they will have to pay a $25 fee before they can get back into their locked apartments was circulated in error, said a representative of the company that owns and manages a downtown property providing federally subsidized housing.

The notice said as of Jan. 2 residents of Aristocrat Manor Apartments will have to pay $25 before building staff will unlock their doors. The fee wouldn't be assessed until the second time a tenant locks themselves out of their apartments.

Kayla LaCasse, an executive with Coffman Investment Co., the Little Rock outfit that owns and manages the building, said earlier this week that the fee will only be charged after hours, when the onsite office is closed. She said the fee is significantly lower than what a locksmith would charge.

"The recent memo sent out did imply a fee being charged during office hours, but it was not approved by the home office prior to sending out to our residents and has since been addressed with our onsite staff," she said in an email. "We are in full compliance with (the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development) and have no further comment."

HUD told ownership last April that the building was out of compliance with the 2000 agreement entitling the Section 8 property to federal Housing Assistance Payments. The notice of default said decent, safe and sanitary conditions weren't being maintained at the former hotel converted into efficiency apartments for low-income tenants 62 or older or disabled.

HUD told owner Marshall Coffman in October the agency was committed to renewing the agreement after it expires at the end of this April if the property is brought into compliance, according to a letter The Sentinel-Record obtained through a public records request.

A Sept. 16 letter to Coffman said the new agreement would set rents at current rates: $906 and $937 a month for the 101-unit building. Coffman Co. has said the cost includes utilities.

HUD said earlier this week that the renewal is under review.

Residents pay up to 30% of their gross adjusted incomes toward rent, with federal subsidies picking up the balance. Copies of rent rolls the newspaper obtained through an earlier records request showed HUD pays ownership more than $60,000 a month in rent subsidies, funds LaCasse said are used to operate and maintain the building.

"(Coffman Co.) receives no HAP funds," she said. "The Aristocrat Manor receives HAP funds as subsidy rent payments for the residents. These funds are used to pay operating expenses such as mortgage, utilities, administrative expenses, maintenance expenses, insurance and taxes, along with minor and major capital improvements."

The Aristocrat received a below-average score on a May 31 report that summarized findings from HUD's April review of the building's management practices, which the report said didn't include a corrective and preventive maintenance program.

The property scored a 45 out of a possible 100 points on its physical inspection last January, subjecting it to enforcement action from HUD and annual inspections. HUD said earlier this week that the 2020 inspection has yet to be scheduled.

In October, ownership pleaded no contest in Garland County District Court to 34 violations of the city's property maintenance code. City inspectors said the violations found during an April inspection have been addressed, and that the building's roof was replaced late last year.

HUD said Section 8 landlords are permitted to charge fees such as those the Aristocrat implemented at the start of the year. The Hot Springs Housing Authority said it has no policy concerning lockout fees at the more than 650 tenant-based Section 8 properties it oversees.

"That's outside our purview to say they can or can't have one," Executive Director Richard Herrington said. "That's an issue that has to be discussed between the landlord and tenant. We just hope the landlords are not abusive in their policies and their application of them."

The local housing authority does not oversee the Aristocrat. It's regulated by the Southwest Housing Compliance Corp., a subsidiary of the housing authority in Austin, Texas, HUD contracts to oversee Section 8 properties in Texas and Arkansas.

Local on 01/09/2020

Upcoming Events