Goleta council approves $297,000 contract to recruit landlords and house 25 formerly homeless residents

The Goleta City Council voted unanimously on its consent calendar to approve a three-year, $297,000 agreement with Partners in Housing Solutions to recruit landlords, place formerly homeless people into housing and provide landlord and tenant support.

City staff described the contract as part of the city’s homelessness strategic plan and as a cost-effective way to house people compared with building or rehabbing units. The program is structured to place 25 people over three years and includes landlord recruitment, tenant support and a retention period in the third year. Council and staff emphasized that the contract covers services and case management; it does not provide rental subsidies.

Partners in Housing Solutions Executive Director Alma Harmson told the council the organization typically places clients into housing within about three months of referral and works closely with nonprofit partners and housing authorities. Staff said the $297,000 is for program operations and not rental assistance; security deposits and landlord risk-reduction insurance were cited as part of the program support.

During council and public questions, staff clarified that the program’s $297,000 is not ongoing rental assistance and that rental vouchers or rental subsidies that clients may use would come from federal or other programs, not from this contract. Staff said some of the contract funds pay for landlord risk reduction (insurance up to $3,000), staffing for recruitment and support, and other placement costs. City staff noted their estimate that eviction rates for subsidized housing countywide have been about 20 percent, and Partners in Housing Solutions reported a lower fallout rate of roughly 8 percent in its placements.

A member of the public asked whether the contract represented the best use of city funds compared with building housing. Staff and Partners representatives said recruiting landlords to use existing housing can be significantly cheaper per person than new construction and that the program aims to “unclog” the pipeline by moving people who are housing-ready into units more quickly.

The consent calendar containing the contract motion passed unanimously on a roll-call vote. Council members who spoke thanked the contractor for the work and asked staff to expand outreach materials to Spanish-speaking residents and community-based organizations.

Ending: The city will execute the agreement with Partners in Housing Solutions, program staff will accept referrals from local nonprofits and housing agencies, and city staff said they will monitor placements and retention under the three-year contract.