THE CONVENIENCE OF “AUTOMATIC” Automated late fees are appealing because they create consistency. If rent is due on the first and a fee applies after a certain date, the software follows that policy the same way each month. But fair housing does not always fit neatly into an automatic workflow. A resident may have a disability-related reason for requesting a different payment date, and management may determine that an accommodation is appropriate. Once that happens, the standard process may no longer fit
that resident’s situation. Unless someone updates the account correctly, the system may continue doing exactly what it was designed to do, turning consistency into risk. How?
FAIR HOUSING DOES NOT ALWAYS FIT NEATLY INTO AN AUTOMATIC WORKFLOW.
WHEN THE ACCOMMODATION AND THE SYSTEM DON’T MATCH Imagine a resident whose disability-related income arrives later than the property’s regular rent deadline. The resident requests a reasonable accommodation allowing them to pay rent later in the month without a late fee. Management reviews the request and approves the arrangement. Everything appears resolved— until the system automatically assesses the late fee anyway.
The resident may now be following the approved arrangement while still being penalized for it. Now the issue is not necessarily the decision management made, but that the decision never made its way into the system enforcing the policy. An accommodation can be documented and approved, yet still fail operationally if account settings or automated notices aren’t updated to match.
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