Cortland Covid-19 Precautions and Updates
As the coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve, this is a unique and unprecedented time for all of us. Now, more than ever, we believe it’s important to continue our focus on providing excellent living experiences. The way we do that might look a little different for the time being, but our commitment to serving our residents, associates, investors, and partners will not change.
We take the health and wellbeing of our residents and associates very seriously. We are closely monitoring the impact the pandemic is having on our communities and everyone we serve, and we are continuing to follow the guidance of the CDC and other applicable state and local requirements to help minimize exposure to the virus. As this situation evolves over time, we will continue to adapt our plans and policies in the interest of our communities’ health and safety.
Office Hours and Contact
While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a serious health concern, we encourage all current residents to continue to conduct as many interactions with us as possible online through the Cortland+ portal or app, by email, or by phone. In an effort to keep our residents and team members safe, we want to limit in-person office visits as much as possible. If an in-person visit is necessary, we will conduct those visits by appointment. To make an appointment, please email or call the community team, and they will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you during office hours.
If you do visit the office, we ask that you abide by all the posted signage to help us with physical distancing and follow the guidance of the CDC and other applicable state and local requirements for helping prevent the spread of the disease. Our team members will be wearing masks, and we ask those who visit the office to do so as well, in accordance with CDC recommendations.
Leasing and Touring Options
If you’re looking for your next home, we’re still committed to helping you find the right home with us! We have a variety of ways you can explore our communities and floor plans, including live and recorded virtual tours and in-person tour options via appointment. We encourage you to explore these options on our community websites, where you can schedule a tour and let us know how you’d like to learn more about life in a Cortland community.
Amenities and Common Areas
Due to state or local restrictions, access to certain amenities and services may not always available; however, our teams are still ready to help you make the most of your living experience with us. We continue to take extra precautions when it comes to our community’s common areas and amenities, including limiting and/or staggering amenity usage, implementing additional policies, and increasing our regular cleaning and sanitizing protocols in and throughout the community’s common areas.
It’s important to remember that we all must do our part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any communicable disease. If certain amenities are available, like your pool or fitness center, we ask that you follow all posted rules, including COVID-19-related signage.*
Service Requests
Depending on the spread of the virus in our neighborhoods, we may only be able to accommodate essential service requests. Here's what qualifies as an essential/emergency request:
• Loss of utility service (water, electricity) that is not a grid-wide or provider issue
• Any major plumbing issue, inoperable toilet, or major leaks
• Loss of a necessary appliance (fridge, range, etc.)
• Loss of necessary lighting due to specialty bulbs or inaccessible fixtures
• Non-working A/C when outside temperatures are over 80 degrees or non-working heat when it’s under 65 degrees (or poses a risk to your health)
• Any threatening situation, unsecured door or window, or anything requiring a first responder or police/emergency personnel (fire, severe weather, flood), etc.
If you have any of these issues, please submit a service request by calling your community’s 24/7 service hotline. We have temporarily suspended the 48-hour service completion guarantee for the time being, but please know that we will do the best we can to respond to any essential or regular maintenance needs as quickly as possible during this time.
When entering your home to address an issue, our team will continue to practice social distancing if you are home, and may ask you to stay in a separate room. They will be wearing proper clothing and protection and taking precautions to sanitize their shoes, hands, and the area in which they are working before and after completing repairs.
Rent Payments
As we all adjust to how the pandemic is affecting our lives, we know many people may continue to face various financial pressures. We’ve been working closely with residents who have reached out to us with concerns about making their regular rent payment. If you’ve been impacted financially due to the pandemic and have not been working with your community team, please reach out to them. Housing is essential, and we are dedicated to doing what we can to work with our residents directly impacted by current circumstances.
In terms of resources, if you are experiencing a hardship, there may be resources offered by federal, state, and local governments – as well as community organizations – to help secure financial assistance, food, and healthcare. Your community team would be happy to discuss your situation and provide available resources that may be helpful to you – just let them know.
For those of you who have not been as financially impacted by the pandemic, it is very important that timely rent payments continue so we can work with those residents most in need of assistance, pay our team members, maintain the cleanliness and safety of our community, and meet our financial obligations in order to continue to provide a home you love.
Commitment to Residents
We know that everyone is spending a lot more time in their homes these days. Our community teams have been working hard to provide an engaging living experience and keep our residents informed – from virtual events to providing helpful resources and creative ideas for enjoying life during these times. If there’s anything our team can do to help improve your experience in your home under these circumstances, please let us know.
We encourage everyone to continue to rely on the latest information from health officials at the CDC and follow the guidance of applicable state and local officials for preventing the spread of this virus. In the meantime, we will continue to focus on providing an excellent living experience and helping everyone in Cortlandia live well.
*Note: Each resident is personally responsible for protecting themselves and their families from the spread of COVID-19 based on recommendations from health officials related to proper hygiene and social distancing. Failure to comply with posted rules may result in the temporary re-closure of an amenity. We also reserve the right to restrict or deny the use of any amenity to anyone in violation of posted rules. Even with additional procedures, rules, and regulations in place, there is still a risk of contracting COVID-19. By accessing the amenities in your community, you are accepting this risk.
