Vouchers prevent homelessness, but rentals remain elusive

It can take up to 200 days for recipients of a city housing voucher to find an available apartment to use it. In the meantime, people often end up couch surfing, living in cars and on the streets. One of the main reasons for the long wait, city officials say, is landlords who are reluctant to accept a tenant with a voucher.

The use of a permanent supportive housing (PSH) voucher allows people to exit unstable living situations, whether they’re precariously housed or experiencing homelessness. The program helps to secure a safe place without the recipient spending more than 30% of income on rent and utilities. Case management and other support services are included, too.

To bridge the gap between those who have vouchers and landlords who are hesitant to accept them, the city plans to launch a landlord engagement program this summer.

“I’ve talked to many, many landlords. This is essentially a program where we offer several services to those taking the city’s housing vouchers,” Abigail Stiles said.

Stiles is a senior policy analyst for the city’s Council Services Department. She spent a year designing the program with the City Council and the Health, Housing & Homelessness Department (HHH). HHH administered about $13.4 million in PSH contracts through 11 agencies in fiscal year 2024.

Under the program, landlords would be eligible for up to $2,500 in reimbursements for damages that exceed a security deposit, and up to $1,000 for upgrades that bring a property up to inspection standards required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In addition, landlords could qualify for up to $500 in flexible funds to cover an inspection delay, pet deposit, utility hook up cost, an application fee or past due fees. They’d also be eligible for the cost of one month’s rent from a vacancy caused by tenant damage.

“To accept a voucher you have to do an inspection,” Stiles said. “A lot of times landlords won’t, because there’s a broken window or screen door. This offers some funding upfront for people agreeing to accept a voucher — money to upgrade their unit so they can pass an inspection.”

Stiles said the program not only reduces a property owner’s risk but can prevent a tenant eviction.

“If somebody’s kid flushes a toy down the toilet and there’s water damage, or if there’s a wild party and something gets broken, we don’t want the landlord to evict, we want to try and keep people in the unit,” she said.

Liaisons at the helm 

A key piece of the program is the deployment of three landlord liaisons focused on the needs of landlords and property owners. The New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness was awarded a $232,000 city contract to hire the positions, which is in the final stages.

“The landlord liaisons will engage landlords who are on the cusp [of accepting vouchers] and entice them,” Stiles said.

The liaisons will compile a list of property owners across the city who don’t accept the vouchers and let them know about the program’s benefits. They’ll help landlords navigate the voucher system and the reimbursement claims process. Those who already accept vouchers will be informed of the program as well.

The liaisons are also tasked to conduct site visits assessing renter behavior and identifying any issues or damages early on.

Officials said the city program is modeled on the statewide Landlord Collaboration Program for young adults, funded by the Children, Youth & Families Department. Bernalillo County also launched its own program earlier this year for landlords who rent to Section 8 tenants through county vouchers. 

That program provides much higher reimbursements for damages — $7,500 per housing unit.