Increasing Rental Access for Unhoused Youth & Young Adults

Project Background

Insecurely housed youth in New York City face significant challenges in finding housing. In 2021, only 4% of youth and young adults who exited runaway homeless programs moved into an apartment. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted existing support services and exacerbated systemic inequities in housing access among unhoused youth and young adults, especially for members of marginalized populations.

When navigating the private rental market, youth and young adults struggle to access the limited housing resources offered by City programs and may face discrimination from landlords. Landlords, on the other hand, weigh financial risks and potential losses when selecting tenants.

This project focused on helping youth and young adults overcome the barriers they face when navigating the rental housing market and transitioning to permanent housing. Our goal was to develop design concepts that respond to the shared needs of youth and young adults, landlords, and City agency staff around these barriers, with a specific focus on exploring a guarantor program and an aftercare/savings program.

This project was carried out within a larger ecosystem of initiatives under Opportunity Starts with a Home: New York City’s Plan to Prevent and End Youth Homelessness (the OSH Plan). The NYC Department of Youth & Community Development (DYCD) and Youth Action Board (YAB) provided key insights and strategic guidance, and the NYC Fund to End Youth & Family Homelessness provided financial support for the project.

We spoke to youth and young adults at all stages of finding permanent housing to understand their experiences with the private rental market.

Interview hours

Landlord survey responses

What We Found

Research Approach

Our research involved both surveys and over 60 hours of semi-structured interviews with youth and young adults, landlords, City agency and provider staff, and subject-matter experts, including staff of similar programs in Seattle, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and New York City.

We also collaborated closely with members of the Youth Action Board (YAB), a standing committee of youth and young adults who have lived experience with homelessness in New York City. The YAB supported interviews with youth and young adults and helped shape the design of the program concept.

Qualitative Research

In virtual and in-person interviews, we discussed the process and roadblocks of youth/young adults looking for housing, as well as the decision-making factors of landlords searching for tenants.

YAB Collaboration

YAB members with lived experience of youth homelessness informed the project strategy, attended site visits to fill knowledge gaps, and participated in a synthesis workshop to refine the program concept and components.

Inquiry Areas

To develop our inquiry areas, we collaborated with our partners at the New York City Department of Youth & Community Development and with young people with lived experience of housing instability from the Youth Action Board. We selected four areas of interest to guide our research engagements:

How are unhoused youth and young adults experiencing the housing market?
What are landlords’ experiences, motivations, and decision-making processes around renting to unhoused youth/young adults?
What are the features of a potential rental access program that meets the needs of unhoused youth and young adults, landlords, and implementation partners?
What additional support do unhoused youth and young adults need once they’ve secured a housing unit and are moving into stable housing?

Shared Needs

We analyzed our research data by identifying which needs were shared among youth/young adults and landlords, what best practices were already in place to serve youth/young adults and landlords, and what service gaps youth/young adults were facing in their journey to housing.

Our research uncovered five needs and preferences (shown below) that often go unmet as youth/young adults and landlords attempt to work together. These needs have varying levels of urgency for youth/young adults and landlords: for youth, these factors affect their ability to secure long-term housing—which affects their overall health and wellbeing. For landlords, these needs refer to business preferences that must be met in order to provide the housing that youth require.

Five Needs

The first two needs apply solely to youth and young adults. When these needs are met, youth and young adults can find housing that fits their preferences and enables them to feel safe and secure. Failure to address these needs may lead to unstable housing situations.

Non-Discriminatory Treatment

Unhoused and unstably housed youth/young adults need programs that put them on the same playing field as cash- paying tenants competing for the same New York City apartments. Youth/young adults also need protection against discrimination on the basis of age, source of income, and more.

Access to Appropriate Housing

Youth/young adults need more housing options that meet their financial needs, age, life stage, and living preferences. Their needs are not always met by vouchers, Rapid Re-Housing programs, and other City-funded living arrangements.

The remaining three needs are shared needs: they address preferences and requirements of both youth/young adults and landlords.

Transparency and Choice

Youth/young adults and landlords need accurate, accessible information about potential paths to housing, including eligibility requirements, key steps, and how long the process will take so they can make informed decisions that suit their preferences.

Long-Term Stability

Youth/young adults need trauma-informed, culturally competent support systems and aftercare that help them stay securely housed over a long period of time. Landlords want low tenant turnover to keep business costs down.

Customer Support and Accountability

Youth/young adults and landlords need reliable, responsive support systems that answer frequently asked questions, provide a single source of truthful information, and hold all parties accountable to the terms of the lease.

What We Designed

We designed five program components, pictured below, to fill critical gaps in youth and young adults’ rental applications, while also providing benefits that support landlords’ ability to accept applications from young tenants.

When attempting to secure housing, unhoused and unstably housed youth and young adults often do not have the same supports as their peers: advice from relatives with experience navigating the rental market, a co-signer to guarantee the lease, and money to weather the occasional setback. The five Rental Access program components replicate this safety net for unhoused youth and young adults in New York City.

We first investigated what makes rental-access programs in other cities successful, then adapted those best practices to address the barriers that youth and young adults experience when navigating New York City’s private rental market. The components’ features were then co-designed with YAB members and shared with the OSH Steering Committee for their input.

The first two components—the Institutional Co-Signer and the Stability Fund—are the most critical aspects of the program. These two elements provide youth and young adults with financial stability and help them submit more competitive applications for rental units.

The remaining three program elements—Lease Liaison Team, Vetted Landlord List, and Information & Referral Line—offer youth/young adults wraparound support in navigating the rental market, while fulfilling landlords’ desires for clear communication and accountability.

Concepts Mapped to Needs

This overview visualization illustrates how program components help both parties navigate their needs and address uncertainty.

View PDF

Project Implementation

A full report of program concepts has been presented to DYCD and The Fund. Development of funding to support piloting of this work is underway.

Projects

Increasing Rental Access for Unhoused Youth & Young Adults

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome

Increasing Rental Access for Unhoused Youth & Young Adults

Partners & Funders

The Project

The Outcome