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Council approves city-linked housing listings platform to expand affordable listings
Summary
Council approved a plan to link a private housing-listings site to the city website, allowing landlords with 20 or fewer units to post free listings to improve access to affordable and income‑restricted rentals; the platform was presented as at no cost to the city.
A city presenter told the Lexington Fayette Urban County Council on March 24 that the city will sign an agreement with a private company to host a housing listings platform linked from the city website that aims to surface lower-cost and income-restricted rental listings.
"It's not costing us anything," the staff member said, explaining the company will allow landlords with 20 or fewer units to list for free while charging larger landlords a fee. The presenter said the platform can pull listings that typically do not appear on commercial sites and credited Councilmember Morton for bringing the idea forward. The presenter also said the city's chief information officer is available to explain technical integration.
Councilmember Morton praised the initiative as a centralized, city-hosted resource that reduces confusion and helps residents find affordable housing, saying it "protects residents through verified listing[s], reducing scams, and providing real data that will help guide better policy decisions moving forward." Morton thanked CAO Hamilton, Commissioner Lanter, Attorney Cravens and CityWise for their partnership and noted the platform comes at no cost to the city while generating revenue to reinvest in housing efforts.
The council voted to approve the new-business item related to the platform by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The council did not attach funding or a city-managed development requirement to the agreement in the work session discussion; the presenter characterized the arrangement as the city linking to a third-party service that will operate the site.
Next steps cited in the discussion include technical coordination with the CIO for site integration and any subsequent contract or memorandum of understanding to be completed by administration. The council did not take additional formal action on funding during the work session.
