Success Factors

Key Ingredients

Multiple/combined strategies. Program recipients may have widely disparate housing needs with respect to down-payment assistance, homeownership counseling, and credit repair. Their incomes and savings will vary, as will their ability to afford certain interest rates, down-payment amounts, or rents. Housing markets may change quickly as different price ranges and varying ratios of rental and for-sale housing come and go. To assist the widest range of possible recipients, a variety of benefit mechanisms is necessary. Using multiple strategies in combination gives the program maximum flexibility and impact. EAH is also most effective when combined with other equitable development tools.

Adequate administrative resources. The administrative partner must have a thorough knowledge of housing assistance, community development strategies, and mortgage finance, plus other skills depending on nature of assistance offered, and must have sufficient available resources to deal with the potential volume of program.

Adequate financing. Although some programs can be initiated with relatively limited funding, high levels may be necessary to maintain programs and have significant impact. Few single employers have the necessary resources to maintain entire programs. Multiple employer funding, government financing sources, foundation funding, tax credits, and other funding sources in combination can give the program greater impact and sustainability. Availability of funding sources may change over time; multiple sources give the program flexibility to remain viable for the long run.

Understanding of responsibilities. Given that EAH typically requires multiple partners, responsibilities must be clearly delineated: Employers, administrators, technical assistance providers, and other participants must each understand their roles. The REACH partnership in Illinois cites its Memorandum of Understanding, which clearly describes the role of each partner and is signed by the partners at program start-up, as a key to the success of the program.

Oversight. When used as a neighborhood revitalization strategy in weak market or transitioning neighborhoods, EAH has the potential to raise housing values and create gentrification pressures. Programs should be monitored to guard against negative effects on local residents. Oversight should be independent; groups involved in administration of or technical assistance for the benefit should not be involved in oversight, as there may be a conflict of interest. Local CBOs or other community groups not otherwise involved in the program could play this role.

Understanding local conditions. Employer-assisted housing requires a thorough understanding of local housing and labor markets: What type of housing is available at what price? What are workers able to afford in what areas? What types of industries are in an area, and what wages are being paid? Knowledge of these conditions is crucial to assessing the viability of a program; which employers, industries, and parts of the region should be involved; what kinds and levels of subsidy to offer; and what amounts of financing are needed.