Becoming A Community

Nobody knows the housing landscape quite like Ken Cook, a Greensboro Housing Coalition staff member on the Healthy Homes Team.

As a Certified Home Inspector, Ken surveys tenants’ housing to ensure that it is code-compliant and that its environmental conditions support the health and safety of those who call it home. Ken then works with tenants and landlords alike to make necessary changes, helping them understand and navigate their respective rights and responsibilities.

This process isn’t always smooth. When tensions arise between landlords and tenants, Ken will also serve as a mediator, helping to negotiate fair and reasonable solutions that will meet the landlords’ needs and keep tenants in their homes.

“A lot of people have no idea how bad the landlord and tenant relationship can be,” says Ken. “We need to fix it. We can do that simply through education, empowering the tenant to be a better renter and empowering the landlord to be a better owner.”

One strategy that Ken uses to improve properties and strengthen landlord-tenant relations is through organizing tenants’ associations. Coming together as an association helps tenants to understand and use their collective power, while also creating an avenue for tenants and landlords to engage with one another.

“When tenants see that their landlord is working alongside the Association and trust begins to develop, that’s when everything starts to change. That’s when a property becomes a community,” says Ken.

Ken’s approach comes from his personal experience as a property owner and a property manager. He has successfully managed a variety of properties, including multiple public housing properties, with his philosophy of fairness and mutual respect.

“As a property manager, you are the ‘parent’ of the property. You’re in charge of the day to day operations, so when it comes to the health and welfare of the residents. That’s your responsibility,” says Ken. “I tell all property managers go in and treat your tenants the best that you can. Be there for them. Get to know them. Good property managers show understanding towards their tenants’ situations.”

In Ken’s experience, when property managers keep their word and follow through on promises, the property becomes cleaner and runs more smoothly. Ken has even found himself invited to the weddings and children’s birthday parties of tenants of the properties he has managed, and they’ve checked in on him on any given day to make sure that he had eaten lunch.

“Your attitude is what shapes your community. As the landlord, you have to learn when it’s the time to be a businessperson and when it’s the time to be a decent person,” he explains. “Working together can be beneficial for everybody.”

Ken’s person-centered approach reaches to the heart of what the Greensboro Housing Coalition is here for – working together to advocate for everyone’s right to healthy, safe, affordable housing.