The City, TCHC, and other housing providers must work together to break down barriers that keep people from moving along the housing continuum towards stable housing.
A – Improving the Integrity of Waiting List Data
Maintaining an accurate and current centralized RGI waiting list is key to getting people efficiently housed. When housing units become available, many applicants cannot be reached, do not respond, or decline offers. This slows down the housing offer process, and social housing units sit vacant. Better data is needed to improve housing providers’ ability to quickly and effectively match waiting applicants with available units. This will help to bring down the vacancy rate, reduce the $7 million in vacancy losses, and ensure better
use of subsidy funding.
B – Properly Prioritizing RGI Applicants
5% of applicants are prioritized, and they wait a significantly shorter period of time for housing. All other applicants are managed on a first-come, first-served basis. People can wait
more than 10 years for subsidized housing. It may be time to reassess whether the City’s current priority categories should be expanded to consider additional factors, so that those
most in need receive RGI housing assistance first.
C – Making Better Use of Housing Units
There are a number of vacant, rentable units in the social housing system. Other social housing units are used for purposes other than housing. Some are not used to house the optimal number of people. A 50% improvement in these areas would result in 2,200 more people getting RGI housing assistance. In addition, TCHC units being held for revitalizations opens possible opportunities to provide relief to the emergency shelter system and may reduce the City’s reliance on hotels¹.
D – Strengthening Controls and Integrating Services
The City needs better oversight to ensure RGI households are selected from the centralized waiting list or from an approved alternate arrangement. The City can also strengthen controls
over eligibility reviews, income verification, and calculating RGI assistance.
¹A complex matter worth considering further because of the housing crisis