1. Designing Rent Subsidy Programs:
Lessons Learned
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Conference
Tom Albanese
July 13, 2011

2. Objectives
• Discuss lessons from HPRP
• Understand variety of rental assistance strategies, with
focus on
– Tailoring rental assistance based on individualized assessments
– Use of progressive, assessment-based engagement
• Understand how to establish and leverage creative
partnerships

3. Program Design Decisions
• Service interventions
– Type
– Duration
– Intensity/Amount
• Limitations: $, funder requirements, admin/fiscal capacity
• Decision-making
– At intake
• Initial screening and assessment
– Ongoing

4. Rental Assistance/Subsidy
Challenge: develop time-limited rental subsidy program for
households without sufficient income to pay rent and utilities
in even a very modest apartment.
– Investigate and select one or more subsidy models (e.g.,
income-based, unit-based, declining).
– Develop qualification and prioritization criteria.
– Define client expectations for keeping the subsidy, including
frequency of re-assessment.
– Define the criteria and process for early termination of a subsidy,
including due process rights for the tenant and procedures for
appeal.

5. Rental Assistance/Subsidy - Approaches
• One-Time/Lump Sum vs Ongoing
– One time assistance can be coupled with ongoing “as needed”
assistance
• Income based Subsidy (e.g., 30% of adjusted gross
income)
– Can be deep or shallow
– Assurance that rent will be paid even if HH income changes
– May inhibit HH from increasing income, moving to smaller, more
affordable unit
– Difficult to budget without past experience/data
– Cliff effect
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6. Rental Assistance/Subsidy - Approaches
• Fixed Subsidy
– Could be based on the rent cost, household size, apartment size, or
some other factor (e.g., $300 for a two bedroom apartment, $400 for a
three bedroom unit).
– Fixed and does not vary, regardless of income changes.
– Can be deep (sufficient to pay all or a majority of the monthly housing
expense) or very shallow (paying just a small proportion).
– Based on analysis of rental market and of how much subsidy the
program’s target population would need to obtain or retain housing in
that market.
– Challenge: deep enough to enable the majority of assisted households to
maintain housing, but shallow enough to avoid the cliff effect
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7. Rental Assistance/Subsidy - Approaches
• Graduated/Declining Subsidy
– Income based or fixed
– Subsidy declines in “steps” based on fixed timeline, case plan milestones
until household ability to assume housing costs.
– Steps known in advance and can act as deadlines for increasing income.
• Combination of above
– Example: fixed, shallow subsidy with ability to adjust under certain
conditions
• All of the above can serve as “bridge subsidy”
– Temporary assistance to help obtain/maintain housing until a longer term
or even permanent subsidy becomes available.
– Requires confidence that longer-term subsidy is available and when
available
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8. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
HPRP Year 1:
• Rental assistance:
– 60% of prevention clients
– 46% of RRH clients
• 44% of people participated 30 days or less
• 92% exited the program within 6 months (180
days) of program entry
• 94% exited to permanent housing
– 90% to rental housing

9. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Housing barrier-focused assessment and service
intervention decision-making
– Housing screening barriers – what a landlord may use to
‘screen-out’ applicants (e.g., income, credit history, rental
history, etc.)
– Housing retention barriers - problems that caused past
housing loss and may cause future housing loss (e.g.,
income, past issues as predictors of potential future issues,
etc.)

10. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Program design flexibility – within constraints of
HPRP Notice
• Target population influences program design and vice
versa
• Client needs vary – no “one-size fits all”
• Greater individualization and flexibility requires…
– Different payment processing & admin/fiscal capacity
– Close monitoring of budget vs actual expenditures
– Ongoing, progressive assessment with participant
– More supervision
– Fair, transparent decision-making; right to appeal

11. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Operationalizing “just enough” approach
– Alameda, San Jose, San Francisco, Lancaster: Case
managers use a budgeting tool and process with clients to
determine the specific gap needed to be filled.
– Little Rock: Also uses an agreement that outlines “need-based”
principle of the program. Continuous communication between
client and case manager. Reassessments conducted whenever
a plan objective is met.

12. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Partnerships are critical
• Landlords = most valued resource
• Housing Authority and other privately owned subsidized
housing
• Know the rental market and establish partnerships
– Landlords are essential partners – identify and develop lasting, mutually beneficial
relationships
– Staff must be housing market “experts” – awareness of options and knowing how
to access all types of housing options is job #1
– Tailor landlord “incentives” to fit the local housing market, landlords risk-tolerance
and the client’s barriers.
– Consider specializing staff functions (e.g. Housing Locator)
• Mainstream benefits & community-based providers
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13. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Arlington County, VA:
– Created new Housing Locator position, who helps clients
negotiate with landlords to reduce or absolve rental arrears and
fees.
– Partners with Virginia Cooperative Extension for financial
education (one-on-one counseling and group workshops).
– Connects households to employment and training services
through Arlington Employment Center. An AEC case manager
provides dedicated support to HPRP households.
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14. HPRP: What Have We Learned?
• Where homelessness cannot be prevented, it can be ended quickly
for the overwhelming majority of households
• Most households will successfully exit homelessness with limited
assistance
• Households with moderate to severe housing barriers may require
more intensive and/or expensive assistance to exit homelessness –
but most can still succeed with temporary assistance
• Assuring households can sustain housing does not mean households
will no longer experience housing or life problems or that they will
achieve “affordable” housing.
• Everyone is housing ready (programs need to be client-ready)
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15. Additional Resources:
HUD Homeless Resource Exchange: www.HUDHRE.info
– Designing and Delivering HPRP Financial Assistance
NAEH: www.endhomelessness.org
– Rapid Re-Housing: Creating Programs that Work
– Homelessness Prevention: Creating Programs that Work