Move-In Multnomah is a program developed by the Joint Office of Homeless Services that offers additional incentives and dedicated support to landlords willing to make housing units available to people coming out of homelessness. It's an acceleration of work already under way, helping thousands of our neighbors into homes of their own every year.
Any property owner with housing units available for rent (apartments or houses) can participate! Incentives include:
- Rent guarantees for up to 12 months (duration of lease)
- Holding fees to cover rent for vacant units while a tenant is being secured
- A hotline for housing providers to connect with tenant case managers if needed
- Resources to cover damages beyond the cost of the security deposit
The Move-In Multnomah landlord incentive program is currently paused. If you are interested in learning more about the program, or would like to be contacted if and when the program resumes, please send an email to movein@multco.us.
The Move-In Multnomah Process
What happens after a landlord fills out the application form?
- Interested landlords are asked to complete the application as soon as possible.
- This form asks for:
- Landlord contact information
- A description of the available rental units
- Information about screening criteria
- Possible flexibilities with screening criteria
- The Multnomah County Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS) then reviews each application to make sure the unit is authentic, the rent is reasonable, and that the landlord understands the intent of the program (providing housing for people experiencing homelessness).
- JOHS staff will communicate with landlords to clarify their applications and ensure the units remain available.
How are tenants and landlords connected?
- Multnomah County has agreements with non-profit homeless service providers who will work with the possible tenant and the landlord to secure a successful placement in the rental units submitted by the landlord.
How are homeless service providers involved in this process?
- These homeless service providers work every day to support people currently experiencing homelessness to find and maintain appropriate and stable housing. These providers are always looking for new rental units for the people they are supporting, and have a range of programs to support people to get into housing. These tools include:
- Move-in funding
- Access to furniture and other household items
- A range of rent assistance programs (short term, medium term or long term depending on what the household needs and what is available)
- A range of ongoing supportive services to assist the household once they have moved in.
How are the final rental/housing arrangements made?
- Case workers from the participating service providers will look at the Move In Multnomah landlord list and identify housing opportunities that seem to be a good fit for the household they are supporting.
- They will look at location, rent and screening criteria.
- Based on this information, the case worker will then directly contact the landlord to begin the process of supporting a household to apply for the available rental unit.
- The case worker can share information about the specific rent assistance and supportive services they will offer the household, and possible screening barriers. They may ask the landlord to change some of their screening criteria in exchange for receiving the Move In Multnomah landlord incentives:
- Rent guarantees for up to 12 months (duration of lease)
- Holding fees to cover rent for vacant units while a tenant is being secured
- A hotline for housing providers to connect with tenant case managers if needed
- Damage coverage: Resources to cover damages beyond the cost of the security deposit
- The case worker and landlord will come to an agreement on which (if any) screening criteria will be modified and which (if any) of the landlord incentives will be most effective in supporting the landlord with this tenancy.
- The household will then complete the landlord's application paperwork, the applicant or service provider will pay the application screening fee and the landlord will conduct their screening process per usual with any modifications made.
- The landlord and case worker will complete the agreement paperwork for whichever Move In Multnomah landlord incentives will be applied. These agreements are between the landlord and the service provider, and confirm mutual expectations for making the different incentives effective.
- Once an applicant has been approved, they will move in and become a tenant based on the terms of the landlord's rental agreement and house rules (if appropriate).
- The landlord, case worker and tenant should remain in regular communication (using the hotline as needed) to ensure the tenancy is successful and to address any concerns, especially concerns that are covered by any of the above incentives.
- The expectation is that these tenancies will continue beyond the incentive coverage period as long as the tenancy is successful and the tenant wishes to remain. Service providers may continue to work with the tenant as needed beyond the one year time period of this program.
