Housing Link

PROVIDING AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING INFORMATION FOR LOW-TO-MODERATE INCOME RENTERS.

HOUSINGLINK HAS BEEN PROVIDING AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING INFORMATION IN THE TWIN CITIES FOR TWENTY YEARS AND IS RECOGNIZED AS THE PRIMARY PLACE TO ACCESS HOUSING OPTIONS FOR LOW-TO-MODERATE INCOME RENTERS. IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING EASY ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING WAITING LISTS AND VACANCIES, HOUSINGLINK IS AN ESTEEMED DATA PROVIDER TO A LARGE GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS THROUGHOUT MINNESOTA. CENTRALIZED, EASY ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT THE SUPPLY AND LOCATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING INFORMATION IS VITAL TO ENSURE THAT COMMUNITY DECISIONS ARE WELL-INFORMED, AND THAT LOW-INCOME HOUSEHOLDS ARE EMPOWERED TO OBTAIN HOUSING IN THEIR LOCATIONS OF CHOICE. CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O. HOUSINGLINK (WWW.HOUSINGLINK.ORG) CONNECTS RENTERS TO THE RELEVANT, VITAL INFORMATION THEY NEED TO FIND THE APPROPRIATE AFFORDABLE HOME FOR THEIR HOUSEHOLD AND STREAMLINES THE PROCESS FOR ADVERTISING UNITS TO RENTERS. SPECIFICALLY, OUR HOUSING SEARCH TOOL IS ONLINE AND ALLOWS USERS TO FIND AFFORDABLE VACANCIES AND WAITING LISTS. OVER 1.5 MILLION SEARCHES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING WERE PERFORMED USING OUR WEBSITE DURING 2021. TYPICALLY, RENTERS ARE ABLE TO LOCATE THE INFORMATION THEY NEED IN LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES.THE FOLLOWING HOUSINGLINK ACTIVITY OCCURRED IN 2021: * 1,534,808 SEARCHES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING * 25,537 AFFORDABLE VACANCIES & WAITING LIST OPENINGS LISTED * 2,661,449 PAGE VIEWS OF HOUSING RESOURCES * 35,183 VISITS FOR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING INFORMATION * 88,083 VIEWS OF HOUSING AUTHORITY WAITING LIST STATUS * 83% OF LISTINGS THAT WOULD CONSIDER A SECTION 8 VOUCHER IN 2021 * 18,000+ VISITS FOR FAIR HOUSING INFORMATION * 23,527,121 NOTIFICATIONS OF HOUSING OPENINGS SENT THROUGH 2021HOUSINGLINK PROVIDES INFORMATION ON THE SUPPLY AND LOCATION OF PUBLICLY FUNDED AFFORDABLE HOUSING THROUGH REPORTS AND A PUBLICLY AVAILABLE ONLINE DATABASE CALLED STREAMS. STREAMS (WWW.HOUSINGLINK.ORG/STREAMS) INCLUDES PROPERTIES AND AFFORDABLE UNITS WITH PUBLIC FINANCING. STREAMS IS USED BY RESEARCHERS AND COMMUNITY PLANNERS AND POLICYMAKERS INVOLVED IN PROJECT PLANNING. OUR DATA AND RESEARCH CAPACITY LED US TO PRODUCE THE HOUSING MEASURES REPORT FOR THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION. STREAMS DATA IS UPDATED ANNUALLY TO REFLECT THE MOST CURRENT INFORMATION. WE PUBLISH TWIN CITIES RENTAL REVENUE, A SUBSCRIBER-BASED QUARTERLY REPORT THAT COMPARES MARKET RATE SHADOW (RENTAL HOUSES, DUPLEXES, CONDOS, AND TOWNHOMES) AND APARTMENT MARKET RENTS FOR THE SEVEN COUNTY METRO AREA. THIS REPORT IS URNING INTO A SUCCESSFUL EARNED INCOME VENTURE FOR HOUSINGLINK. WE AVERAGE 30 SUBSCRIBERS ANNUALLY; MAINLY RECURRING SUBSCRIPTIONS WHICH HELP SUPPORT OUR GENERAL OPERATIONS. HOUSINGLINK ALSO PUBLISHES A RENTAL HOUSING BRIEF FOR THE CITIES OF MINNEAPOLIS AND SAINT PAUL WHICH TRACKS KEY METRICS ON AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING IN THE COMMUNITY TO INFORM POLICYMAKING. HOUSINGLINK'S STRATEGIC PLAN INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FOR 2022-2026. * PURPOSEFULLY ARTICULATE THE VALUE AND BENEFIT OF HOUSINGLINK. * USING NEW AND EXISTING TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS, CONTINUE EXPANDING AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING OPTIONS. * MAKE HOUSINGLINK DATA AND RESEARCH MORE ACCESSIBLE TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT RENTAL HOUSING. * DEEPEN CONNECTIONS TO AND DEVELOP RESOURCES FOR DIY PROPERTY OWNERS. * CONTINUE STRATEGIC EXPANSION. * BUILD INTENTIONAL CONNECTIONS AND DEEPEN WORK IN GREATER MINNESOTA.

HOUSINGLINK WAS PART OF THE ZERO BALANCE PROJECT, A PROGRAM DESIGNED TO DISTRIBUTE FEDERAL EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE (ERA) ESTABLISHED IN 2021 WITH POOLED FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE COUNTIES OF DAKOTA, HENNEPIN, AND RAMSEY AND THE CITIES OF MINNEAPOLIS AND SAINT PAUL (JURISDICTIONS). AS OF THE CLOSE OF THE ZERO BALANCE PROJECT ON MARCH 11, 2022, $29,674,914 IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE HAD BEEN PROVIDED TO 4,084 HOUSEHOLDS, FOR AN AVERAGE OF $7,266 PER HOUSEHOLD COVERING AN AVERAGE OF 7.2 MONTHS OF RENT.CONTINUED ON SCHEDULE O.THE BEYOND BACKGROUNDS PROGRAM HELPS RENTERS WITH BARRIERS (CRIMINAL CONVICTION, EVICTION, BAD CREDIT) BY PAIRING THE RENTER WITH A LANDLORD RISK MITIGATION FUND TO HELP THEM GET INTO A RENTAL HOME. THERE HAVE BEEN 538 RENTERS HOUSED, WITH 16 RISK FUND CLAIMS PAID TO LANDLORDS SINCE THE PROGRAM BEGAN IN NOVEMBER 2017.