LEP Program Information
The mission of United Way of Ventura County is: “To Mobilize and Inspire the Caring Power and Resources of our Community.” In keeping with this charge and in response to the shelter crisis in Ventura County, United Way of Ventura County has launched a Homelessness Initiative to include a county-wide Landlord Engagement Program (LEP). The program advocates for and supports individuals, families, seniors, and veterans prioritized for housing vouchers and housing subsidies provided by local jurisdictions and community partners in preventing and ending homelessness. Everyone needs a safe place to call home, yet that basic need is increasingly out of reach for many people in Ventura County.
Limited affordable housing supply, extremely low vacancy rates, and prohibitive and rising rents, make home access for those with housing barriers exceedingly challenging. Homelessness and housing challenges have only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the crisis’s impact spanning the rental market and housing programs county-wide.
To increase the rental housing stock available for utilization of housing vouchers, LEP is engaging, cultivating, retaining, and growing the number of landlords willing to help prevent and end homelessness. The program achieves landlord participation by addressing their key needs and concerns – responsive customer service, timely rental payments, assistance with inspection processes attached to housing voucher programs, loss of income during move-in lag time, and damage mitigation, should the need arise.
The Need - Housing
Everyone needs a safe place to call home. Ventura County’s most vulnerable individuals, families, and veterans need access to housing in a competitive rental market.
The Solution - Landlord Engagement
Landlord engagement and incentives to increase the number of available housing units; landlords working with housing voucher holders and those with housing subsidies.
Housing Partner/Landlord Benefits:
- New Landlord Appreciation Bonus
Our thank you for renting to a household receiving housing subsidy assistance. - Holding Deposit/”No Loss” Bonus
Receive a daily proration of the full agreed upon contract rent (up to one month’s rent) to mitigate any move-in delays. - Continuity Bonus
Rent to additional households from our County’s homeless and housing programs and receive a bonus for each household. - Consistent and on-time rental payments via housing vouchers
- Responsive liaison and landlord customer services
- Supportive services and good tenancy education for tenants
- Flexible funds for damage mitigation, should the need arise
- Housing partners’ retention of the right to screen and select tenants
For more information or to learn more about the Landlord Engagement Program, contact Manager of Homelessness Initiatives, Carie Bristow at carie.bristow@vcunitedway.org or call (805) 485-6288, ext. 235. If you or someone you know is homeless or at risk of homelessness, please visit our resources for help.