Specifications include, but are not limited to: Administer a pilot program that will subsidize the cost to report low-income tenants’ and housing assistance recipients’ rent payments to the major credit bureaus, with the goal of increasing credit scores. The increase in tenants’ credit scores will, in turn, better position them to pursue homeownership or transition from public housing assistance to the private rental market. The program will also serve as an opportunity to connect tenant participants to existing credit, housing, and financial counseling services, which will further improve credit scores and prospects for achieving home ownership or transition to the private rental market. The pilot program will include an evaluation of the impact of rent reporting and credit/housing/financial counseling on tenants’ credit scores, as well as their ability to pursue homeownership or market rate rental units.
