SEATTLE, Feb. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Seattle Mayor
Jenny A. Durkan and King County
Executive Dow Constantine today unveiled a new Zillow-powered
search tool to help match local nonprofit service providers
and their clients experiencing homelessness with owners of
affordable vacant rental units.
A project borne of Mayor Durkan's Innovation Advisory
Council, and launched in 2018; the new search tool was developed by
a team of Zillow employees in close partnership with the Seattle
Office of Housing, local nonprofit organization Housing Connector
and its network of service providers and property owners. The
Innovation Advisory Council – whose members come from the
corporate, academic, and nonprofit sectors – collaborates with the
City of Seattle to use data and
technology to solve Seattle's most
urgent challenges in the areas of homelessness, affordability,
mobility, delivery of essential services, and more.
Zillow's search tool directly addresses one of the biggest
challenges for case managers searching for affordable housing for
their clients experiencing homelessness. Case managers no longer
have to laboriously look for available homes property-by-property;
the units are now at their fingertips through Zillow's online
listing platform.
Through Zillow's search tool, Housing Connector partner
landlords will be able to quickly upload housing inventory, and
local non-profit service providers will be able to find housing
inventory in real time for tenants who need affordable housing.
Housing Connector landlords have adjusted or waived criteria that
would normally prevent those most in need from qualifying for the
home. Thirty-five landlords throughout Seattle and King
County and 42 nonprofit service providers are active on the
platform as it launches, with more partners expected to be added.
Zillow's search tool does not require or knowingly collect the
personal information of tenants and no user information through
Housing Connector is sold to third parties.
"We are fortunate to live in one of the most innovative,
talent-rich ecosystems anywhere on the planet – and for too long,
our government has existed as if we have no relationship to it. I
created the Innovation Advisory Council because we know that the
challenges facing our region cannot be addressed by government
alone," said Mayor Durkan. "I am incredibly proud of the work that
Zillow and the Housing Connector have done to make it easier for
people experiencing homelessness to find affordable housing and for
affordable housing providers to connect with those in need. Zillow,
Housing Connector, and the Seattle Office of Housing have shown
that by working together, we can find truly innovative solutions to
some of our region's most pressing challenges."
"Zillow's new application streamlines the connection between
property managers who have apartments available and families who
need housing now," said Executive Constantine. "We are grateful for
their partnership with our Housing Connector program and for their
commitment to being part of the solution to the crisis of
homelessness in our region."
"Our community desperately needs more affordable housing," said
Shkelqim Kelmendi, Executive
Director of Housing Connector. "And while we're working to build
that housing, individuals experiencing homelessness can't wait;
they need a home today. Together with Zillow, we are thrilled to
launch this new search tool to scale our impact and streamline how
individuals access housing with reduced screening criteria,
ultimately decreasing the time a unit sits vacant and the number of
days a family must experience homelessness."
"As a company headquartered in Seattle, Zillow is committed to doing what we
can to help address one of the greatest challenges facing our
region today: housing affordability and homelessness. When asked by
the mayor to serve on her Innovation Advisory Council and work with
Housing Connector -- which needed a better way to find and surface
available housing inventory -- we saw an opportunity to use our
unique skillset to build a tool that will help Housing Connector
fulfill its mission to help families find a home," said
Racquel Russell, vice president of
government relations and public affairs for Zillow. "Through the
leadership and support of Mayor Durkan and Executive Constantine
and a tremendous amount of hard work by some of our most talented
employees and engineers, we are excited and honored to launch this
new tool that we hope will make a meaningful difference in the
lives of our neighbors."
A coalition of private and public partners including the
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of
Commerce, the City of Seattle and
King County launched Housing
Connector last year to help private property owners and landlords
easily and successfully rent to people experiencing homelessness.
The City of Seattle and
King County developed the
initiative with a business to business approach as a key component
of homelessness systems change based on the belief that leveraging
existing housing in the private market can meaningfully reduce
homelessness.
To help attract private property owners and landlords as
partners, Housing Connector provides free referrals to
ready-to-rent residents and financial support to cover a variety of
costs (ensuring access to benefits that include rent guarantee,
security deposits, damage mitigation funds, and unit hold fees,
etc.). In exchange, property owners will adjust criteria or lower
barriers for potential tenants, opening up units that previously
were out of reach for individuals experiencing homelessness.
To date, Housing Connector already has found homes for 460
individuals and families experiencing homelessness in the region.
Thanks to the services and support provided by Housing Connector,
renters referred by the organization can find and move into their
next home nearly 30 percent faster than the same renters facing
similar barriers without the support of Housing Connector. This new
tool housed on Zillow.com will help drive that wait time even
lower.
More information on Housing Connector and their innovative
approach to housing can be found HERE.
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SOURCE Zillow