The city of Austin is partnering with tech-powered nonprofit Housing Connector to increase access to housing for those in need by reducing entry-level barriers. The first tenant from the program was expected to move in Thursday, with a second move-in planned for later this month.

Housing Connector provides property owners and managers with tenant support and financial incentives, such as rental assistance and damage mitigation funds. In exchange, property owners agree to adjust screening criteria, like credit score and rental history, that could otherwise prevent people from renting their properties.

Shayna Dunitz, Housing Connector’s Austin managing director, said they have over 2,000 units online for clients to look at.

“Everyone wants to solve this problem, and there just (haven’t) been enough ways to do it that acknowledge what the property (owner) needs, which is getting rent paid on time and having units filled, and also what the the community partners need and what our neighbors need, which is access to safe, healthy housing,” Dunitz said.

In addition to their recent expansion to Austin, Housing Connector also operates in Dallas, Denver, Portland and across the state of Washington, and they have housed over 8,000 individuals, according to their website.

In Austin, Housing Connector is currently working with two community partners that work with clients in need of housing.

“We’re really being that middle person between the properties and the community partners to help facilitate move-ins,” Dunitz said.

One of those community partners is Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, a nonprofit that provides people experiencing homelessness with basic necessities like food and laundry.

Stephani McCarthy manages Wayfinder, a program with Sunrise that provides assistance with deposits. She called working with Housing Connector “a perfect partnership.”

“With the help of Housing Connector and with our funding for deposits and move-in costs, we’re able to get more people moved in and get more people housed that maybe couldn’t have without the assistance that we provided,” McCarthy said.

Sunrise signs clients up for the Housing Connector program and gives them access to the Zillow-powered technology that allows them to view Housing Connector properties. Clients are provided with a letter of support in order to receive the reduced screening criteria Housing Connector properties provide. Once clients are approved, Sunrise pays their deposit.

“These people are working full time jobs, they’re not just doing nothing,” McCarthy said. “They just can’t afford to live in Austin. So with a little bit of help from us and Housing Connector, I think we can help people sustain their housing.”

The program is currently on a two-year contract with the city of Austin, which is paying for it using one-time American Rescue Plan Act funding. Gary Pollack, manager of the Policy and Planning unit for Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office, said the program could continue beyond two years if the funding becomes available.

Pollack also said they hope to build relationships with property owners so an intermediary like Housing Connector may not be needed in the future.

“The overarching goal is to just increase access to housing,” Pollack said.

While this program was announced by the city in a press release April 1 and launched earlier this year, the groundwork was laid in 2021 when the city held a summit aimed at addressing unsheltered homelessness.

When the city was awarded federal funds through the American Rescue Plan Act, Austin’s city council decided to prioritize homelessness, with about $1.5 million being dedicated to it.

After a previous attempt to address this issue fell short, Pollack said, the city decided to “flip the script” and find a nonprofit organization that could work with the properties.

“We really tried to do our due diligence and learn about what other communities were doing because we knew that what we had tried in the past just didn’t work in Austin,” Pollack said. “We’re really hopeful that this new approach with this innovative partner will help create something new in our community.”