Housing Search Assistance - Welfare to Work Vouchers

Factors to Consider when Providing Housing Search Assistance

PHAs should consider the following factors when developing a plan for providing housing search assistance:

• Link Housing Search and Landlord Outreach
  Remember that successful outreach to landlords leads to successful housing searches. The more landlords who are willing to rent to WtW families, the greater the odds that the family will locate a unit. The two efforts, therefore, should be well-coordinated. For example, Section 8 landlords should notify the PHA when a unit becomes available so that the PHA can immediately notify "ready to rent" Section 8 families who may then contact the landlord. This referral service benefits both the landlord and the housing authority. It attracts landlords to the program because it eliminates the need to market vacant units and reduces or eliminates vacancy days. This service also helps families locate units more quickly.
  
  
• Follow Good Administrative Practices
  PHAs and/or their WtW partners must be trained and must have processes in place to provide housing search assistance of the highest quality. Depending on the size of the program, a well-trained individual or group of individuals should be dedicated to providing search assistance. They need to understand the local housing market and know where jobs, transportation, daycare and other service centers are located. They also should consider the needs of working families by conducting briefings or providing housing counseling or neighborhood tours on weekends or during evening hours.
  
  
• Prepare Families to Search
  Families must be thoroughly prepared to search prior to issuance of the WtW voucher. To assist with this preparation process, PHAs and partners should: develop and present the highest quality program briefing to families; educate families on fair housing rights; provide families with unit listings and/or landlord listings; and provide housing search counseling so that families will meet WtW program objectives.
  
  
• Support Families During the Search
  WtW voucher programs can offer a variety of supports to families during their search for housing. Periodic contact with families during their housing search has been proven to improve leasing success. Such contact allows the PHA to assess the family's progress in locating units and to resolve any issues and clarify program requirements before the expiration of the voucher term. Other examples of support to families during the housing search include providing special accommodations for voucher holders with special needs, helping the family secure loans or financial assistance to pay for security deposits and/or the costs of moving, and providing transportation assistance or neighborhood tours.