Although the federal authorities have made clear they don't have concerns that a pandemic flu would spread more easily in a multifamily dwelling, there are related issues specific to apartment living that management companies need to consider in their preparations, Eileen Lee, NMHC/NAA vice president of Environment tells GlobeSt.com.

For example, closing the school system to prevent contagion is one of the first measures the federal, state and/or local authorities are going to take, she says. One scenario that is likely to develop as a result is that families will form impromptu day care arrangements-one parent watching a group of children one day, another watching them the next. Apartment owners and managers "would be ill advised to sanction these arrangements, because they would undermine what the authorities are trying to accomplish by closing the schools in the first place," Lee says.

In the worse case scenarios, multifamily owners and operators need to know what the protocol will be for cleaning an apartment in which sick people lived and possibly died. "How to clean the apartment, what is the index for knowing when it is ready to be turned over must all be part of the planning," she says. In this case, the local health authorities would provide the best guidance.