National Apartment Association Review, Explanation, and Membership Benefits
The National Apartment Association (NAA) is one of the largest apartment industry trade groups in the United States. Much like the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), the NAA advocates for policies favorable for apartment owners, operates its own PAC (political action committee), and provides a variety of networking and educational benefits for members.
The National Apartment Association operates as an affiliate network of state and local apartment associations, in which the members of state and local affiliate apartment associations are automatically considered members of the NAA. Currently, the NAA has 153 affiliates with a combined 82,000 members across the world. NAA members currently own or operate more than 10 million apartment units and spend more than $87 billion per year on apartment-related goods and services.
What are the Policy Objectives of the National Apartment Association?
The National Apartment Association shares most of its current policy objectives with the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), as they collaborate regularly on setting policy objectives for the industry. The NAA advocates for these issues through the NAAPAC (National Apartment Association Political Action Committee, a bi-partisan political action committee. Donations by members are not tax-deductible.
Current major issues for the NAA and the NAAPAC include:
COVID-19 Renter Assistance: Providing robust federal assistance to support renters suffering financially during the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic crisis.
Federal Eviction Moratoriums: Immediately stopping the use of federal eviction moratoriums, which put an enormous financial strain on apartment owners and operators.
COVID-19 Liability: Implementing COVID-19 liability protections for multifamily housing operators which could face frivolous lawsuits.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: Maintain and expand capital availability from the GSEs, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, to ensure appropriate liquidity in the apartment housing market.
Section 8: Expanding and improving the Section 8 housing voucher program to make it available for more residents and housing operators.
National Flood Insurance: Reform and reauthorize the National Flood Insurance program to reduce liability for housing operators.
Resident Screening: Ensuring that apartment operators are allowed to reasonably screen their residents to prevent undue risks.
Fair Housing Legislation: Balancing housing fairness with operators’ ability to screen their residents for potential risks.
Data Privacy: Standardizing the wide variety of data privacy regulations for apartment operators to help ensure they can remain compliant without undue financial costs.
Other Issues and Legislation Supported by the NAA
In addition to the issues mentioned above, the NAA focuses on a variety of other policies, such as ensuring that apartment operators can conduct criminal background checks on potential residents, opposing mandatory sprinkler refits, setting clear legal expectations regarding resident marijuana usage, increasing clarity surrounding rental deposit requirements, and rolling back the implementation of nuisance prevention ordinances, which can hold apartment owners liable for the volume of emergency services used by their residents. These are just a few of the wide variety of policy issues that the NAA focuses on.
Specific legislation the NAA is currently advocating for includes the Build More Housing Near Transit Act (H.R.2483), intended to maximize federal investment for affordable housing located near public transit, and The Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) Act (S.1614/H.R.3198), which encourages municipalities to “eliminate discriminatory land-use policies and remove barriers that prevent needed housing from being built around the country.”
NAA’s Legal Assistance Program Can Help Apartment Owners and Operators, Establish Industry-Friendly Legal Precedents
If an NAA affiliate, NAA affiliate member, or member company is involved in apartment-related legal actions, they can utilize NAA’s attorneys for assistance in creating amicus (friend-of-the-court) briefs, in which NAA lawyers submit legal briefs that supplement and strengthen a member’s legal arguments. This is intended to help members, as well as to set industry-friendly precedents in state and federal courts.
Common legal issues faced by apartment owners and operators involve land use regulations, fair housing, rent control legislation, sub-metering, and illegal immigration. In exceptional cases, the NAA may join as a party in the lawsuit.
The NAA’s Apartmentalize Conference Provides Networking Opportunities for Members
In addition to the board of directors and advocacy meetings, the NAA holds a large annual conference, Apartmentalize, each year. The event includes educational seminars, networking opportunities, tradeshow booths, and celebrity speakers. It also features an educational seminar specifically for apartment suppliers.
The NAA Education Institute (NAAEI) Offers Educational Opportunites for Members and Non-Members
The NAA Education Institute (NAAEI) provides industry-recognized credentials for a variety of career paths in the apartment and multifamily industry, including certifications for suppliers, maintenance technicians, leasing professionals, and many others.
Specific credentials offered include:
Certified Apartment Manager (CAM): Designed for property managers, the CAM certification helps train managers to engage in general best practices, increase their property’s net operating income (NOI), as well as how to help owners achieve their specific multifamily investment objectives.
Certificate for Apartment Maintenance Technician (CAMT): Designed for maintenance professionals, this certification helps maintenance technicians and supervisors understand best practices to reduce property maintenance costs.
Certified Apartment Leasing Professional (CALP): This program helps leasing professionals understand how to increase leads for prospective residents, conduct leasing demos, overcome objections, and qualify residents.
Certified Apartment Portfolio Supervisor (CAPS): This program focuses on training apartment professionals to effectively conduct due diligence, conduct financial analysis on and generate reporting for properties and portfolios, understand management agreements, and supervise property takeovers.
Certified Apartment Supplier (CAS): Designed for suppliers, this course helps salespeople better understand the needs of apartment owners and operators in order to better position their products and services.
Independent Rental Owner Professional (IROP): Helps professionals who own and manage their own properties learn skills like preventative maintenance, tax planning, budget management, rental unit preparation, resident qualification and retention, and how to make energy-efficient property upgrades.
Specialist in Housing Credit Management (SHCM): Helps professionals understand compliance for LIHTC (low-income housing credit) deals, including documentation, inspections, and certifications.
Credential for Green Property Management (CGPM): Helps professionals understand and stay compliant with HUD’s Office of Affordable Preservation (OAHP) green Mark-to-Market restructuring program, specifically, how to make compliant, cost-saving green upgrades to apartment properties.
The NAA Offers a Members Savings Program
The NAA Members Savings Program is a savings program exclusively available to NAA members. The NAA Members Savings Program currently offers discounts at major retailers and suppliers including Home Depot (2% cash-back), Lowes, and Matrix Fitness (a supplier of exercise bikes with virtual training options). The program also offers 20% off for the first six months of RentManager property management software. The NAA Members Savings Program is currently open to all members of NAA-affiliated apartment associations.
The NAA Publishes a Wide Variety of Trade Publications
The NAA publishes a variety of trade information through several apartment-related publications. These include their monthly full-color magazine, Units, as well as:
Apartment Advocate: A monthly publication providing public policy updates related to the apartment and multifamily housing industry.
Apartment Business Update: A quarterly newsletter providing updates regarding apartment industry investment trends and data.
Apartment Technology: A monthly newsletter about apartment technology.
Marketing Buzz: A monthly newsletter containing tips, trends, and ideas about marketing apartment units to potential residents.
Aptly Spoken Blog: An award-winning blog focusing on issues including apartment marketing, operations, and sustainability news and opinions.
Industry Insider: A weekly newsletter summarizing newsworthy articles related to the apartment industry.
CampusConnex: A monthly newsletter summarizing updates, ideas, and advice for student housing owners, operators, and service providers.
Operations Insights: A monthly newsletter focused on providing information related to apartment maintenance and operations.
Should You Join The National Apartment Association?
As we mentioned earlier, if you’re an apartment owner or industry player who has joined a local or state apartment association that is an NAA affiliate, you are automatically a member of the NAA. Therefore, you should make a choice based on whether joining your local or state apartment association is a good investment.
Institutional apartment investors or large companies in the multifamily industry may want to consider joining the National Multifamily Housing Council (NHMC). Membership can be quite expensive, but the NMHC provides a variety of high-level networking opportunities that may be useful for established players looking to expand their professional network.
Even if you are not a member of the NAA via a local affiliate, its publications, events, and training programs may be helpful at some point in your career, so it’s a good idea to understand the programs that the NAA offers and how they may benefit you.