Crime Free Multi-Housing Program or The Landlord Training Program

What's the difference?

Some crime prevention practitioners have been confused over the difference between the Landlord Training Program and the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program. It is confusing. This page is intended to provide some clarification.

The original program name is: The Landlord Training Program: Keeping Illegal Activity Out of Rental Property. The origins of this program, including its 1989 creation with the support of U.S. Department of Justice funding, are well documented.

We understand that two separate types of programs are now in place in the nation under the name "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program" -- one type based on the original Landlord Training Program and one, developed later, based on different materials.

The term "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program," therefore, has come to include two meanings. Here is the background to each definition:

1. "Crime Free Multi-Housing" is one of the more commonly used alternate names for the Landlord Training Program. While most jurisdictions use the original name, many have developed their own program name and logo for their Landlord Training Program efforts -- this is not only permitted, it is encouraged to foster local ownership of the program. The term "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program" was originally simply one of the alternate names for the Landlord Training Program used by some Arizona jurisdictions to indicate a program that further "certifies" landlords who complete the site modification and resident organization steps recommended in the training. All Crime Free Multi-Housing Programs in place prior to 1997 were based on the original Landlord Training Program's materials for their "phase one" training, and some, but not all, "Crime Free" programs introduced after 1997 are also based on the Landlord Training Program.

2. "Crime Free Multi-Housing" is also a name for a program that does not make direct use of the Landlord Training Program materials. The jurisdiction that originally introduced the alternate program name began to use their version of the program in ways that resulted in the emergence of materials and programs in different jurisdictions, each called the "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program," which included both advice concerning the requirements of local law that was not accurate and elements which, our experience has taught us, can be divisive to community building efforts. Out of concern for the quality and reputation of the Landlord Training Program, and pursuant to our mission to promote appropriate program use, we requested that this use of the program materials be stopped. That jurisdiction then took steps to stop using the Landlord Training Program materials.  It is our understanding that they now use rewritten materials, also under the name "Crime Free Multi-Housing," that do not make direct use of the original Landlord Training Program materials. Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc. expresses no opinion concerning the quality or usefulness of this implementation of the Crime Free Multi-Housing Program.

Because of this history, the term "Crime Free Multi-Housing Program" means different things in different contexts and Campbell DeLong Resources, Inc. does not endorse use of the term or the associated program logo. Rather, we recommend that local agencies that want to implement the Landlord Training Program either use the original name, or create one of their own, as many jurisdictions have. By using this approach, an agency retains the right to set its own program design parameters and can ensure its program's reputation is tied only to the quality of training the local agency presents. We believe that your best program will be one that takes into account local concerns and reflects unique local pride in the name, logo, and presentation.