Housing Partnership Network’s Renter’s Advantage Program:
An Impact Video

Pandemic relief is over and the economic fallout from COVID-19 is causing housing instability for far too many renters—disproportionately affecting people of color. With evictions becoming more common, landlords and residents services teams are facing criticism instead of recognition for their work fundraising, helping residents, and assuring that everyone has access to support.

The Housing Partnership Network (HPN) approached us to make an impact-based video explaining their Renter’s Advantage Program and spotlighting the work of one of the resident services teams that brought the program to life.

Our Objective: convince program funders that programs like Renter’s Advantage are a good investment, and encourage foundations and government officials to fund such programs in the future.

Our Approach: Spotlight the ways in which HPN and its members and funders serve as “partners in dreams” for the renters and residents they serve across the US

The Voice & Tone:

• Grounded: The American dream isn’t a destination, it’s a journey. It’s going to work every day, cashing your check at the end of the week, gradually building your credit, and making a home for your family.

• Collaborative: No one takes that journey alone. We all need partners, copilots on the road to happiness. That’s where HPN, along with our essential funders, landlords, and resident services staff come in.

• Aspirational: With our programs, we help low-income renters develop the financial literacy that is crucial for every family and to make the affordable housing system work for everyone.

About Renter’s Advantage

In 2020, with funding from Wells Fargo, the Housing Partnership Network (HPN) and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) partnered to address mounting rental arrears among affordable housing residents and their providers. This resulted in the Renter Advantage Program.

What is it? An initiative that paired owners of multifamily affordable housing with nonprofit credit counseling agencies with the goal of helping reduce arrears, stabilize payment, and support overall tenant’s wellbeing.

Why did it exist? The adverse effects of the pandemic were especially acute for renters, low-income households, and people of color. And there was no cohesive strategy to support renters during macro-level financial crises.

• In October 2021, 17% of Black households and 16% of Latino households reported being unable to meet basic necessities such as food, compared to nine percent of households overall.

• Although a nationwide eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent was put in place in September 2020, this provided only temporary protection for an unknown period of time.

• Rental arrears continued to accrue under the moratorium, increasing the risk of future eviction and threatening the stability of tenants and housing providers

The program was originally intended to decrease the number of renters in arrears—and in reality household rent arrears in properties with Renter Advantage clients further accrued. But achieved most of its impact in creating and deploying a set of new, sustainable strategies to improve the renting experience that can be replicated in markets across the country. The findings shed light on the feasibility of utilizing financial counselors to engage with struggling renters during future economic crises; a way to improve long-term financial health and well- being for renters; and how to create strong and scalable partnerships among affordable housing providers, resident services providers, financial counselors, and renters.

What positive impact did it have?

It leveled the playing field (slightly). Renter Advantage was able to reach a population that is more diverse and much lower-income than traditional credit counseling clients.

• Overall, nearly 90 percent of Renter Advantage clients are people of color, with 44 percent identifying as non-Hispanic Black and nearly 30 percent as Hispanic. Among most partners, the majority of clients are non-Hispanic (NH) Black.

• Over half of Renter Advantage clients have incomes below 30 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), which is considered extremely low-income (ELI). Another quarter have incomes between 30 and 50 percent of AMI, and less than five percent of residents have incomes above 80 percent AMI. The average income of client households typically served by credit counseling is notably higher, at approximately 70 percent of national median income

• Most of these clients didn’t have access to or know where to go for financial resources, and Renter Advantage, by providing free access to counseling, helped to fill this gap

It honed in on the individual. The counseling provided focused on each individual / household unique needs and strengths, rather than prescribing one fix for all. Counselors would help each renter assess their financial needs and then deliver tailored guidance and support, such as custom budgets and debt management plans, and identification of social services.

It built a community. Enlisting Resident Ambassadors to help promote the program among their peers was an effective strategy for encouraging and continuing engagement. Residents, rather than staff, were trained to lead program promotion, resident engagement, and referrals to counseling.

It celebrated partnership. Local implementation was co-led by a housing operator and a counseling agency with experience operating in the same geographic region. The local housing operator and counseling agency would work together over the course of implementation to ensure clear communication about the program offerings, troubleshoot challenges with referral systems, and otherwise refine practices to better assist renters.

It built trust. Trust between frontline staff, counselors and residents was key to program implementation and program uptake. Property and resident services staff brought expertise in resident engagement and helped make referrals and connections to external resources and benefits. The local partnership model was specifically intended to build trust and foster a lasting relationship between the pair entities.

It promoted a growth mindset. Rather than only focusing on the relief that the skills gained from financial counseling can bring, counseling agencies were able to speak more to the benefits of the counseling process itself. About a quarter of Renter Advantage clients had more than one counseling session, with considerable growth in multiple sessions in the most recent six months.

It relieved stress. It gave residents a dedicated space to work through financial stress and assess their mental and financial health.

It provided long-term support rather than a short term fix. Tools included long-term rent repayment plans to address rental arrears (a unique component of Renter Advantage) and encouraged residents to consider their long-term financial goals.

It adapted in real time. The Renter Advantage program was relaunched in January 2022 with an expanded set of services, revised marketing materials, and guidance on best practices identified during the first year of the pilot. Implementing organizations worked to adapt the program to complement, rather than compete against, governmental assistance.

It took an upstream approach. It helped shift the emphasis away from rental repayment plans (RRPs) and towards long-term budgeting assistance and preventative financial education. This included broader options for financial support and empowerment, such as improving credit scores and preparing for homeownership. It allowed residents the opportunity to take a deep dive into their finances with an eye towards their future goals.