The city may be about to follow the lead of several other communities around California and the nation by establishing a “risk mitigation fund” as an incentive to landlords who are reluctant to rent their units to the homeless.
Mayor Michael Tubbs’ office has proposed Stockton establish the $50,000 fund, which would reimburse landlords if they rent to homeless residents, and those residents subsequently damage property, are late on rent or force a long and costly eviction process.
The City Council is slated to vote on the matter tonight. The proposed fund would be available to landlords who rent to military veterans and other homeless Stockton residents eligible for federal housing vouchers.
“There’s no evidence that says those on vouchers are more likely to do property damage than others,” Tubbs said Monday afternoon. “But because there’s that perception, we have to mitigate that.”
Bill Mendelson, the executive director of Central Valley Low Income Housing, said the proposal “shows the city is willing to take some steps to help make housing available to folks who are homeless.”
Mendelson added, “It’s extraordinarily difficult to find a landlord willing to rent (to a homeless resident) even when a unit is available.”
Mitigation funds to assist landlords who rent to the homeless have been put in place from Orlando, Florida, to Seattle, Washington. Closer to home, Marin County has established a $400,000 mitigation fund as part of a two-year pilot program.
Stockton’s mitigation fund would apply to a maximum of 50 homeless veterans and other clientele of Central Valley Low Income Housing and the San Joaquin County Housing Authority.
“This is taking a market-based approach to trying to convince landlords to rent to the homeless,” said Jon Mendelson, a homeless advocate and son of Bill Mendelson. “It is, in a sense, an insurance fund for landlords.”
A biannual census of the county’s homeless population taken in January found 567 unsheltered men, women and children in Stockton, Lodi, Manteca and Tracy. Of those contacted, 311 (55 percent) were in Stockton.
According to a staff report for tonight’s meeting, the $50,000 mitigation pool would be drawn from general-fund dollars already allocated for homelessness.
The mitigation fund is one of two items on homelessness on tonight’s City Council agenda. The council also will consider adopting “guiding principles” pertaining to housing, data collection and the provision of services to Stockton’s homeless.
Similar principles already have been adopted by San Joaquin County. A joint City Council/Board of Supervisors meeting on homelessness is scheduled next Tuesday night.
“It’s really good to be collaborating with the county and other cities so that we’re all working on the same goals,” Deputy City Manager Laurie Montes said. “It’s good public policy.”
Jon Mendelson said, “We’re happy to see that the city and county may be adopting the same priorities. Anytime you have policy priorities that line up between the county and the county’s biggest city it’s a good thing. I believe Stockton is showing some real leadership in this issue.”