Homelessness is a tragedy for anyone. Being homeless as a new immigrant can be even more challenging. Though each immigrant experience is unique, there are best practices for helping immigrants to access housing resources. The PATH TA Center’s Melissa Martin spoke with Toby Guevin of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition to learn more.

Toby Guevin, State Policy Director of the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, understands the struggles providers face in securing housing for new immigrants. Providing interpretive services is only the first step towards securing housing. As Guevin explains, “Communities need linguistically and culturally competent workers in community-based organizations that have legitimacy within an immigrant community.” In addition to being culturally competent, providers must also understand the resources available in each community and different eligibility requirements.

A good way for providers to begin is to keep a list of which groups of people are eligible for housing benefits in their community based on their immigration status. For example, though requirements vary from state to state, the following immigrant groups are generally eligible for public housing and Housing Choice vouchers (Section 8) from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD):

• lawful Permanent Residents,
• refugees and asylees,
• victims of trafficking and their derivative beneficiaries,
• certain battered women and children who are not lawful permanent residents,
• persons paroled into the country for at least one year,
• persons granted withholding of deportation,
• temporary residents under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) general amnesty or paroled into US for less than 1 year,
• Cuban-Haitian entrants, and
• citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau (Broder & Blazer, 2009).

Once providers understand the different categories of immigrants eligible for publicly funded housing assistance, the next step is becoming familiar with the barriers immigrants face when attempting to access housing benefits. These may include discrimination from landlords or shelter staff or services that are not culturally competent. New arrivals may experience fear of deportation or distrust of government officials as a result of trauma suffered in their home countries (Access Alliance, 2003). Guevin recommends education and outreach as the first step toward addressing these barriers. Providers can make consumers feel more comfortable accessing benefits by educating them about their legal rights and eligibility.

New immigrants may have misconceptions about eligibility for housing assistance. Guevin offers more information about common concerns expressed by consumers and helps to clear up misconceptions about eligibility:

Concern: My friend or relative was not eligible for housing, so I must not be eligible.

Fact: There are many categories of citizenship status. Even if a friend or relative was found to be ineligible, that doesn’t mean that the individual will be ineligible.

Concern: I was not eligible for food stamps. I must not be eligible for housing.

Fact: Benefit granting agencies have different citizenship eligibility requirements. Even if an individual is not eligible for one kind of benefit they may be eligible for another.

Concern: My child is documented, but I am not. This means that we cannot access public housing.

Fact: If at least one member of the household is eligible for housing benefits based on immigration status, the family may reside in HUD public housing but the subsidy will be pro-rated (Broder & Blazer, 2009).

Concern: I do not have documents. I cannot speak with a housing worker because they could report me to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and I could be deported.

Fact: Housing workers cannot report consumers to ICE for failure to produce a social security number. Contact your state welfare office to check state specific laws on this issue. Please note that providing a fake social security number is a federal offense. Never provide a fake social security number.

Concern: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will reject my citizenship application because I applied for a public benefit.

Fact: While receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or other cash assistance can be used against the applicant when applying for US Citizenship, applying for housing benefits does not negatively impact citizenship applications (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services).

These are just a few of the common concerns faced by new immigrants. To best serve new immigrants, providers need to respond in a culturally competent way to immigrants’ specific concerns while staying current on benefit eligibility. Following this twofold approach will enable providers to help new immigrants navigate the system of applying for housing benefits while helping to prevent homelessness among vulnerable new immigrants.

Tens of thousands of people, increasingly families, seek asylum annually in the US. In 2020, the US granted asylum to 31,429 individuals, with many from countries of origin that include Venezuela, El Salvador and China. The responsibility to provide services to asylum seekers fleeing dangerous situations, who often arrive with nothing, has fallen predominantly on local governments and non-profits whose capacity is already stretched thin by existing challenges, like the homelessness crisis.

The process of seeking asylum is a long one, and migrants often face dangerous conditions and long journeys to reach the US. The legal process only formally begins when someone reaches a US port of entry. These individuals must apply for a Credible Fear Screening during which US immigration officials judge whether the individual is eligible for asylum. Eligibility is contingent on a demonstrated inability to return to their home country due to discrimination based on “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.” If credible fear is found, the asylum seeker must then appear in immigration court before a decision is made on their asylum status.

Some asylum seekers wait years to receive an interview and decision. NLC has long called for comprehensive immigration reform, which would “support a humane, just and dignified asylum system,” including increasing the federal government’s capacity and infrastructure to manage and process individuals making a border crossing.

Asylum seekers’ journey to safety and legal status is mired with obstacles. This blog will examine the barriers asylum seekers face to securing stable housing within the US and provide recommendations for how cities can support them in the short and long term.

Barriers to Housing

After facing tremendous hardship to reach the US, often being left with little means to begin their new life, asylum seekers’ first residence in the US is frequently in temporary federal custody. Asylum seekers generally receive limited government support in finding other temporary housing, forcing them to rely on local non-profits and shelters. While some asylum seekers may have family members of support networks elsewhere in the US, they likely lack the means to get there.

Many asylum seekers struggle to find employment without work permits and face discrimination in employment and housing. For example, some landlords are hesitant to rent to asylum seekers over concerns about a lack of stable income, which compounds the barriers asylum seekers already face to accessing housing. Language barriers can also make finding housing difficult and is an added challenge for navigating a new city in which public transportation may be insufficient or inconvenient. Lastly, the cities and non-profits working to serve and house these individuals and families already suffer from overloaded capacity, especially homeless shelters, many of which struggle with staffing and bed shortages.

What are Cities Doing to Address the Issue

The number of people displaced worldwide is rising and the US remains a place where asylum seekers believe they can build a better life. Cities need to consider how best to house asylum seekers who need temporary housing and those who are resettling permanently.

Short-Term

In the short-term, asylum seekers need access to temporary housing as their case is heard and as they transition into life in the US. Increasing available temporary housing capacity can help prevent asylum seekers from staying in crowded conditions or experiencing homelessness.

Albuquerque, NM launched the Rent to a Refugee Campaign, which encourages landlords to consider renting to refugees and asylum seekers. The campaign includes panels and online resources to educate landlords on the local, state and federal resources available to help refugees become financially independent. These resources include job training services and interim cash assistance available through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement to help allay landlord concerns that asylum seekers will not be able to make rent. The program also helps landlords notify the city if they are interested in hosting refugees.

Washington, DC allotted $10 million to a newly created Office of Migrant Services in September 2022. The office aims to connect asylum seekers, refugees, and other migrants to the wraparound services they need to safely stay in Washington, DC while their cases are pending. These wraparound services include temporary housing, meals, medical support, legal services, transportation, resettlement services, and language support. The city will also help them find transportation to their next destination or stay in the city once a decision is made on their case. Like DC, other cities can serve as an important entry point for asylum seekers, and help coordinate between non-profit organizations to make it easier for asylum seekers to navigate available resources.

Long-Term

While temporary support is important, asylum seekers’ ultimate goal is often to obtain legal status and long-term, safe, secure and affordable housing.

Cities should expand existing tenant protections to support vulnerable renters. For example, housing navigators and interpretation services already exist, and cities can expand staffing or languages offered to support asylum seekers. Cities can also use risk mitigation funds to help encourage landlords to rent to asylum seekers. While risk mitigation funds typically target low-income households or veterans, for example, eligibility criteria could expand to specifically include asylum seekers.

Portland, ME is expanding permanently affordable housing options for asylum seekers. The city has already spent $60 million from July 2019 to June 2022 on housing asylum seekers, many in hotels, with costs reimbursed by the state. The state is also subsidizing new affordable housing projects specifically for asylum seekers, with support from the city’s $8.7 million affordable housing fund. Portland, ME is prioritizing both short-term and long-term housing for asylum seekers.

Boise, ID and the Idaho Office for Refugees joined together to create Neighbors United in 2009. The collaboration includes over 100 community members and organizations who work to increase access to formal and informal education opportunities, employment opportunities, quality healthcare, housing options, and transportation services for refugees and asylum seekers. Boise has also tried to educate community members and resettling asylum seekers on each other’s cultures to facilitate acceptance and integration. Neighbors United addresses issues ranging from housing, childcare and job needs. Cities should build similar collaborations regionally with service providers to better support asylum seekers.

What is Next for Cities

Housing and support services are critical to a compassionate response to the increase in asylum seekers. In the short term, cities can provide services like temporary housing and transportation support, and coordinate between non-profit providers working to support asylum seekers. More broadly, efforts to preserve, protect, and produce housing, especially affordable housing, will benefit asylum seekers staying temporarily or permanently in a city. Supports like job training programs can also help asylum seekers to build self-sufficiency. City leaders play a critical role in service provision and coordination and set the tone and stage for the wider community. As local leaders work to build strong and healthy communities, that includes welcoming and integrating new members to the community who will contribute to the overall workforce and economic competitiveness of the municipality.

Written with contributions from Amit Cohen, a former intern on the Housing and Community Development team at the National League of Cities.

Factors affecting access to housing

Planning issues to consider

Ensuring that resettled refugees have access to secure and affordable permanent housing is perhaps one of the most challenging and complex problems facing countries of resettlement. Recognising the critical role of housing in the integration process, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands all allocate long-term housing to resettled refugees soon after their arrival.

Their capacity to do so is influenced by both the structure of housing provision in those countries (with government playing a significant role in providing housing to nationals), and the fact that resettled refugees are allocated to specific municipalities according to a quota system. This enables a greater degree of advance planning than is the case in countries where refugee placement is governed by other factors (see the placement section).​​​

In other resettlement countries, however, there may be barriers to allocating subsidised housing to resettled refugees, with many having minimal public sector housing, an unmet demand for low cost accommodation among citizens, and significant homeless populations.

In this context, governments risk generating antipathy toward resettled refugees if there is a perception that refugees are given preference over citizens for subsidised government housing. While in some of these countries, public housing authorities agree to allocate units for resettled refugees, in others newcomers are required to secure housing on the same basis as citizens and are subject to the same eligibility requirements and waiting periods for public housing.

Nevertheless, almost all countries recognise that resettled refugees face disadvantage in the housing market and hence offer them additional support to access permanent housing.

Identifying key players in housing provision

The involvement of a number of key stakeholders will be critical in ensuring that resettled refugees have secure and affordable accommodation, in particular:

• private sector landlords and renting agents.
• government housing authorities.
• community-based integration agencies, diaspora and refugee support services and non-government agencies. In many countries, these agencies provide housing advocacy, advice and support and may also be involved in providing subsidised housing to populations with special needs.
• housing associations, charitable organisations.
• volunteers. In many countries, volunteers provide ‘hands-on’ support in the process of searching for a house.
• refugee communities and family and friends.

Initiatives to facilitate access to safe, secure and affordable housing

Housing information and support

Most countries incorporate information about housing into orientation programmes and offer individual support to secure long term housing as part of reception and early integration support.

Some resettled refugees will require housing support, information, advocacy and advice later in the integration period in relation to tenancy matters or when searching for a house in the event that further relocations are required. Varying arrangements are in place in established resettlement countries for providing this support, including:

• providing funding to grassroot, diaspora, integration support and non-government agencies serving refugees and immigrants to offer housing advice and support.

• promoting resettled refugees’ access to housing support, advocacy and information services established for nationals who experience disadvantage in the housing market (e.g. by providing information about these services to resettled refugees; sensitising services to the experiences and needs of resettled refugees; and establishing partnerships between integration support services and specialist housing agencies).
• establishing special housing information, support and advocacy services for refugees and immigrants.

Addressing possible objections to renting to resettled refugees

Private renting agents may be reluctant to rent to resettled refugees because few resettled refugees have an established rental or employment record in the resettlement country.

United Kingdom

In the UK, private landlords will generally not accept tenants who receive welfare benefits without reassurance from the local authority that they will cover the rent, should the tenant fail to do so. This requires extensive negotiations from the local authority and has resource implications.

They may also be concerned about the potential for existing tenants to be intolerant of newcomers (e.g. different cooking smells or music). A number of strategies have been adopted by resettlement countries to address this, including:

• building relationships between integration agencies and individual renting agents to give reassurance that resettled refugees can maintain a sound and secure tenancy.
• awareness raising activities among private landlords and rental agents.
• promoting resettled refugees’ access to mediation and advocacy services through community-based services and non-government agencies or housing advocacy services established for nationals.
• brokerage services. For example, the British Refugee Council offered a scheme whereby the council provided (among other things) a written guarantee against an agreed inventory on behalf of refugee tenants. In Portugal for example, NGOs as well as municipalities will sublet private housing with some exceptions. Through positive experiences with refugee tenants, landlords participating in brokerage programmes may be more willing to enter future tenancies with resettled refugees without third party intervention.
• legislation to prevent discrimination in the housing market on the grounds of race, culture or ethnicity (see section on welcoming and inclusive societies).

To access affordable, quality housing new arrivals will need to know:

• whether housing is provided to resettled refugees by the resettlement country.

• about the key features of the housing market (e.g. the mix of public and private housing, home ownership).

• the costs of housing in the resettlement country.

• the availability of housing (how difficult will housing be to secure?).

• realistic information about the quality of affordable housing and the characteristics of the neighbourhood in which it is likely to be available.

• the rights and obligations of housing tenants.

• the availability of services providing advice and support in locating and securing housing.

• the availability of financial assistance to meet the costs of housing (e.g. rental subsidies, refundable loans, assistance with ‘up-front’ costs).

• how to find and apply for rental accommodation.

• how to apply for government subsidised housing.

Enhancing access to public housing

Wherever possible, it is important to make government subsidised housing available to resettled refugees as they may be on a low or fixed income in the early integration period. Resettlement countries have sought to enhance resettled refugees’ access to public housing by

• providing information to resettled refugees about public housing. In many countries, resettled refugees are routinely supported to apply for public housing as part of the reception and orientation process. This is important given the long waiting times for public housing in many countries.
• ensuring that systems for allocating public housing on an urgent or priority basis are responsive to resettled refugees, particularly those with specific needs.
• providing professional development to housing officers to ensure that an understanding of the experiences and needs of resettled refugees is reflected in placement decisions and administrative processes.
• making specific housing allocations for resettled refugees.
• encouraging housing authorities to plan for resettled refugees with specific housing needs (e.g. extended families, refugees with disabilities).

Subsidies to meet the costs of housing

Some countries offer rental subsidies and grants and refundable loans to meet the ‘up-front’ costs of private rental (e.g. rent in advance, bonds). While in some cases, these programmes are targeted specifically to resettled refugees, in many they are part of a broader income support programme available to nationals.

United Kingdom

• In the UK, a benefit cap is applied to families with more than two children. Local Authorities/resettlement partners therefore consider all possible limitations in terms of welfare benefit entitlements or financial restrictions, before placing a refugee family in a tenancy. This appraisal takes into consideration the Local Housing Allowance and also the restrictions in place for large families. This avoids placing families in housing where the rent is higher than the actual benefits they receive.

• Maximising partnerships with faith groups, churches and charities who may hold housing stock and would like to work in partnership with the local authorities to provide financially sustainable tenancies. This requires ongoing advocacy, awareness raising and trust building through sustained contact. It is recommendable to have one dedicated staff member who liaises with housing agencies and private landlords.

• Photographs and floorplans of properties should be shared with families before arrival so that families know what to expect. The detailed orientation provided immediately after arrival includes information on how to maintain the tenancy throughout the support period and beyond.

A Place to Live, A Place to Stay – A Good Practice Guide for Housing in Refugee Resettlement

This guide provides a comparative overview of housing for refugee resettlement in Europe. It identifies good practice in housing for resettled refugees at the local, regional and national levels and makes recommendations for policy and practice development in the areas of a) national, regional and local cooperation to implement resettlement quotas, b) finding housing for refugee resettlement, and c) housing introduction, integration support and welcoming communities. It includes case study interviews with a private landlord, municipality housing worker and previously resettled refugee;

Good practices in the EU context

Hosting bigger families in smaller cities is a common good practice in Europe. In most European countries, adequate and affordable housing for bigger families can often be found in smaller municipalities or rural areas. It is important for these localities to provide integration support, education and job opportunities.

Good practice features

Overall, a sound integration programme would ensure that:

• there are appropriate protocols and resources in place to provide or facilitate access to long term, affordable, secure and quality housing as soon as possible after arrival.

• relevant players are engaged in the planning process, in particular, refugee communities, non-government organisations, government housing authorities, housing associations and the private sector.

• the needs of resettled refugees with particular housing needs are addressed (e.g. bigger and/or extended families, single people, resettled refugees with disabilities).

Specific housing services and programmes would:

• provide language assistance.

• provide housing advice and support recognising the importance of other integration elements such as income and social support.