Coronavirus poses challenges for multifamily buildings

As statewide orders allow the reopening of various facilities forced to close during the coronavirus shutdown, the regulations don’t offer clarity for some properties that could pose risks: apartments and condominiums.

Eileen Normile, president of the Downtown Sarasota Condo Association, said the residents group has been working with officials and property managers to sort out the best approach for limiting the spread of COVID-19 in shared living spaces.

One recurring concern she’s heard from those in charge of multifamily facilities is that they wish there were more concrete guidelines for their properties from state or local authorities. The state stay-at-home order closed nonessential businesses, but it didn’t speak specifically to common amenities in multifamily buildings. And although gyms are now clear to reopen, that doesn’t mean all of the residents can agree on whether it’s safe to let people back into the community fitness center.

Chuck Henry, administrator of the Florida Department of Health in Sarasota County, encouraged residents in multifamily buildings to seek out guidance on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website. The CDC encourages social distancing and the use of cloth face coverings in shared spaces. It advises residents to consider limiting the number of people allowed in an elevator at one time and says to make sure there’s good air flow in any shared rooms. Cleaning shared areas and surfaces should be a priority, the website says.

There are other resources available for multifamily building residents and managers, too. The Community Associations Institute, an international trade organization, has a series of FAQs and guidelines on its website. Recommendations include establishing schedules for use of shared laundry rooms and preventing guests from using reopened facilities.

Henry said it’s difficult to issue hard-and-fast guidelines for multifamily buildings because each facility has different dynamics based on the physical layout and the residents living there. When it comes to questions of whether to, say, reopen an apartment’s gym, Henry said both factors need to be considered.

“Do you have the space to social distance while people still use those amenities, and are your residents willing to do that?” Henry said.

Normile said different condo buildings downtown are taking different approaches to reopening and that one challenge facing property managers is enforcement of guidelines.

“None of these buildings are set up to police people,” Normile said. “One building was allowing two people in the pool at a time. Well, what happens when the third person jumps in? Are you going to start a civil war in the building you live in? It gets a little dicey.”

For now, the DSCA has recommended that condo buildings consult their insurance carriers and attorneys to determine what’s best for their properties. The association is also sending out regular updates to members in an effort to keep them up-to-date on coronavirus regulations.

If someone living in a multifamily building tests positive for the coronavirus, Henry said the health department is willing to assist getting an informational message out to residents that protects the identity of the patient. Still, Henry said the presence of a coronavirus-positive resident shouldn’t necessarily change people’s behavior — because they should always act with the knowledge there might be an asymptomatic person in their building.

“The things that should be happening [if there’s a known positive] should already be happening,” Henry said. “People should be practicing social distancing. People should be wearing cloth masks whenever they’re in common areas.”