KUT: Sunrise New Partner, Housing Connector

A company that convinces landlords to make their properties available to people experiencing homelessness by offering incentives, such as insurance policies against damage and unpaid rent, has launched in Austin.

Housing Connector, a nonprofit, creates a real-time map of rental homes landlords have agreed to make available to people who have struggled to stay housed. The map is hosted on Zillow and can only be accessed by organizations that work to house people and have agreed to partner with Housing Connector.

In December, Austin City Council members agreed to pay Housing Connector about $2.14 million over two years so it could begin operating in the city. The map of available homes launched earlier this week with about 2,300 rental homes listed, the company said.

Housing Connector is taking a stab at solving an age-old problem in homelessness services: convincing landlords to rent to someone who may have a history of evictions, unpaid rent or mental illness.

“For landlords, it’s always a risky proposition to rent to people coming out of homelessness,” said Mark Hilbelink, executive director of Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center, a nonprofit that helps feed and house people living on the streets. Hiblenik said, historically, the way around this was for landlords to charge larger security deposits or additional fees – essentially, an added tax.