The Property Owners and Managers Survey (POMS) was designed to learn more about rental housing and the providers of rental housing. The purpose was to gain a better understanding of the property owners and managers on whom the nation depends to provide affordable rental housing and what motivates their rental and maintenance policies. Interviewing for the survey was done between November 1995 and June 1996.

A nationwide sample of approximately 16,300 housing units which were rented or vacant-for-rent in the 1993 American Housing Survey National Sample (AHS-N) was selected, and a questionnaire was mailed to the property owner, manager, or other agent of the owner of each property containing a selected unit. Detailed information was collected on maintenance, management practices, tenant policy, financial aspects of rental property ownership, owner characteristics, and related topics.

Analysts can use survey results to answer the question: Who are the owners of the nation's rental units and do their actions differ greatly between different segments of the rental market? The survey results also can be used to analyze the problems facing owners and managers of rental units, and as an aid in understanding more about what are considered priorities by owners and managers.

The addresses included in the POMS sample were limited to counties and independent cities in the 438 sampling areas used for the Census Bureau's 1993 American Housing Survey (AHS) National Sample.

A unit (and the property containing the unit) was included in the survey if it was a privately owned rental unit in the 1993 AHS-N, and was still rental at the time of the POMS (November 1995 to June 1996). A unit was considered rental if it was either rented for cash rent, occupied by someone other than the owner without payment of cash rent, or vacant but available for rent.

The following types of units (and the properties containing these units) were either excluded from the original sample, or were identified as being out of the scope of the survey during the conduct of the survey.

• Units owned by a public housing authority
• Units owned by the United States Military or any other Federal agency
• Units that were owner-occupied
• Units that were vacant, but were available for sale only
• Units that were vacant, but were not available for rent or sale
• Units used primarily as second or vacation homes
• Units that were rental at the time of the 1993 AHS-N, but were no longer rental at the time of the POMS (November 1995 to June 1996)
• Units that became rental after the 1993 AHS-N i.e., new construction and units converted from owner to rental

This survey does not duplicate work done in other Census Bureau surveys or studies that deal with rental units or properties, but can be used to supplement such surveys as the American Housing Survey (AHS) and the Residential Finance Survey (RFS).

There are two public use microdata files available. The first is for units in single-unit rental properties which include:

• Single-family detached houses
• Single-family attached houses, rowhouses, or townhouses
• Single housing units attached to a business
• Condominium units (house or apartment)
• Cooperative units (house or apartment)
• Mobile homes

The second is for units in multi-unit rental properties (two or more housing units) which include:

• Units in apartment buildings or complexes (non-condominium or cooperative)
• Single-family houses with an extra unit such as a garage, attic, or basement apartment
• Units in duplexes or triplexes
• Units in any other property with two or more housing units