The Census Bureau operates year-round taking many types of surveys. Every ten years a major census is taken by the Bureau. Census takers are officially employed as "Enumerators." Managers and board members have raised security concerns about giving census takers access to their buildings.
Security Issues. Despite any security issues raised by associations, the law requires cooperation with census takers. As
provided for in
13 U.S.C. §223:
Whoever, being the owner, proprietor, manager, superintendent, or agent of any hotel, apartment house, boarding or lodging house, tenement, or other building, refuses or willfully neglects, when requested . . . to furnish the names of the occupants . . . or to give free ingress thereto and egress therefrom to any duly accredited [census taker] . . . shall be fined not more than $500.
The $500 fine is small, unless it is interpreted to mean per unit, then it could be significant. Associations should cooperate with census takers.
Identification. Associations can require evidence that the person is a census taker. Since census takers will often refuse to
have their I.D. badges photocopied, associations can verify the person's status by calling the local census office and
speaking to a manager. In addition, the census taker's name and I.D. information can be written down so there is a record of who entered the building.
Phone Surveys. Sometimes managers are called by people claiming to be census takers. They ask for the names of residents and for their contact information. For security reasons, associations can decline to give out information over the phone. If
the person comes to the association's management office and provides proper I.D., the association should cooperate.
ASSISTANCE: Associations needing legal assistance can
contact us.
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