Online affordable and public housing applications submitted via RentCafe on target to more than double in 2018, improving process for applicants and housing providers
SANTA BARBARA, July 23, 2018 – A record number of households nationwide are going online to seek housing units operated by affordable housing providers and public housing agencies, aided by software solutions from Yardi.
In the first six months of 2018, more than 200,000 applications were submitted online through the RentCafe® platform for affordable housing providers and public housing agencies. That figure easily outpaces the 300,000 applications submitted in 2017.
The jump speaks to the efficiency of electronic applications compared with paper-based processes. Historically, housing providers have conducted applicant intake interviews in person or required applicants to fill out forms by hand. Households had to submit hard copies of required supporting documents to the housing provider. Nearly all that information had to be hand-keyed into compliance software.
Pinnacle Property Management Services oversees many Low Income Housing Tax Credit units and was an early adopter of RENTCafé Affordable Housing. “We no longer have to rely solely on our leasing agents being well-versed in tax credit compliance requirements. RENTCafé takes care of all of that,” says Nick Strzelec, property technical analyst for Pinnacle.
RentCafe Affordable Housing and RentCafe PHA streamline the application process with an easy, self-guided workflow that makes it possible for applicants to complete everything online and when it is most convenient for them. Electronic applications also reduce the need to take time off and travel to an office for an appointment, remove the need for staff to interpret handwriting and allow applicants to easily submit pictures of supporting documents from a smartphone or tablet.
“We expect the number of online applications to continue to grow rapidly,” said Dave Kessler, vice president of affordable housing and PHA for Yardi. “There is a great potential to transform the way this process historically works. Providers and applicants can avoid excessive paperwork, in-person meetings and potentially expensive fair housing claims. Today’s renter expects this sort of process to be an online experience they can do from a laptop, tablet or phone. We’re following through on those expectations with RentCafe.”
Learn how Pinnacle makes affordable housing leasing easier for its staff and applicants. Find details of Pinnacle’s success on Yardi’s corporate blog, The Balance Sheet.
About Yardi
Yardi® develops and supports industry-leading investment and property management software for all types and sizes of real estate companies. Established in 1984, Yardi is based in Santa Barbara, Calif., and serves clients worldwide. For more information on how Yardi is Energized for Tomorrow, visit yardi.com.