The following is a list of key resources on topics related to employer-assisted housing. If you're aware of other resources that should be added, please contact us.


Websites

The Employer-Assisted Housing section of PolicyLink's Equitable Development Toolkit provides an overview of Employer-Assisted Housing and the considerations involved in developing an EAH policy. The toolkit covers the benefits of EAH programs, supportive policies, financing, keys to success, a case study, and links to other resources.

The Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago specializes in employer-assisted housing programs. While directed primarily at Illinois residents and employers, the Council's site also has information on efforts at the national level.


The National Association of Realtors Field Guide to Employer-Assisted Housing consists of an "Employer-Assisted Housing Basics" section with links to articles and reports on EAH, and an "Employer-Assisted Housing Plans Across the Country" section with links to examples of EAH programs.

The National Housing Conference and National Association of Realtors® co-hosted nine Bring Workers Home regional forums on workforce housing and employers-assisted housing between 2009 - 2011.  View the presentations and resources from the 2011, 2010, and 2009 Bring Workers Home events.These forums explored a core set of issues including:

• Learning how to create and sustain a workforce housing programs in your community.
• Understanding the importance of advancing workforce housing through local and regional partnerships.
• Exploring workforce housing issues from the perspective of employers.
• Hearing from other practitioners and advocates managing successful workforce housing strategies.

Articles & Reports

Connecting Working Families to Economic Opportunities in the Philadelphia Region: The Role of Employers. [PDF] 2007. By Sarah Treuhaft. PolicyLink and Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition.
This policy brief describes the economic challenges faced by working families and examines four strategies businesses are using to add to their bottom line by strengthening the workforce: employee training programs, transportation benefits, housing benefits, and community revitalization partnerships. The author notes that Employer-Assisted Housing (EAH) initiatives can be supported through policies such as state and local matching funds, state and federal tax credits, and integrating EAH into state or local economic development plans. Recommendations for Philadelphia include launching a marketing campaign to raise employers' awareness of the strategies available to them, and implementing policy incentives such as a state tax credit.

Employer Assisted Housing: An Old Concept Gaining New Momentum. 2006. By Lynn Ross. American Planning Association PAS Memo. Available to subscribers to the APA's Planning Advisory Service.
This essay provides an introduction to employer-assisted housing, including an explanation of the benefits of EAH programs, the ways in which programs are designed and the evolution of EAH. Case studies of the Long Island HomeWorks Partnership and REACH Illinois give further detail on the specifics of these programs.

Employer-Assisted Housing: Competitiveness through Partnership. [PDF] 2000. Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.
This working paper describes employer-assisted housing and argues that partnerships including businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies can promote the use of EAH most effectively. EAH remains a rare benefit largely because employers lack the information and expertise to institute an EAH program. Public agencies can enhance the use of EAH by facilitating partnerships between employers and nonprofit service providers.

Employer-Assisted Housing: Improving the Bottom Line and Unlocking Doors to Homeownership for Your Employees. [PDF] 2003. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae.
This report provides an overview of Employer-Assisted Housing programs. It lists the benefits to employers; describes the relationship between the employer, employee, lender, and Fannie Mae; and discusses the EAH options, including grants, forgivable loans, deferred loans, matched savings, and home-buyer education.

Employer Assisted Housing Resource Guide. [PDF] 2002. By Jennifer Larson. Saint Paul, MN: Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
This booklet provides a comprehensive overview of employer-assisted housing, including a survey of the various roles employers can play, options for structuring a housing benefit and examples of successful programs.

Employer-Based Homeownership Programs: A Business Case. 2004. By Amy Brown. Washington, DC: Fannie Mae Foundation.
This report makes a business case for the inclusion of homeownership assistance as a component in the benefits package offered to employees. The paper also describes the steps that need to be taken to establish a homeownership assistance program, and provides case examples for each. Related documents include the series of case studies of employer-based homeownership programs on which this analysis is based.

Making the Case for Employer-Assisted Housing. 2005. By Robin Snyderman. Shelterforce Online #141. National Housing Institute.
This article reviews the benefits of Employer-Assisted Housing such as lower turnover, reduced recruitment, and shorter commutes.  The article features the REACH Illinois EAH program, highlighting strategies adopted in different parts of the state.

New Arguments for Employer-Assisted Housing. [PDF] 2006. By Anna Afshar. New England Community Developments, Issue 1. Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
This article discusses EAH programs and describes how EAH is being implemented in New England through tax credits, matching funds, and private efforts by employers. Examples of successful EAH programs in other parts of the country are included to highlight strategies for New England jurisdictions to consider.

Private Sector Partnerships: Investing in Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization. [PDF] 2004. Edited by the National Housing Conference. NHC Affordable Housing Policy Review 3(2).
This collection of short essays offers case studies that illustrate the ways in which collaboration between the public and private sectors, including employer-assisted housing, can be used to achieve housing affordability and neighborhood revitalization goals. Profiles of the Metropolitan Planning Council in Chicago, Select Milwaukee and Seattle's Hometown Home Loan Program demonstrate how employer-assisted housing programs have worked in local communities.

Private Sector Solutions for Workforce Housing: What REALTORS and their Partners Can Do. [PDF] 2006. By Barbara Lipman. Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy. (The section on employer-assisted housing begins on page 23)
Written for the National Association of REALTORS, this handbook includes a description of employer-assisted housing and references to additional resources that offer more information to employers interested in creating a program of their own. Profiles of REACH Illinois and the Chicago Small Business Consortium for Employer-Assisted Housing provide more in-depth discussion of local programs, and a discussion of federal EAH legislation gives perspective on efforts at the national level.

Public-Private Partnerships for Workforce Stability. [PDF] 2011.  Metropolitan Planning Council.  This fact sheet provides concrete steps for employers to use federal resources to promote workforce stability through employer-assisted housing programs.

Quantifying the Value Proposition of Employer-Assisted Housing: A Case Study of Aurora Health Care. [PDF] 2008. By Lynn M. Ross. Washington, DC: Center for Housing Policy.
This case study attempts to quantify the relationship between employer-assisted housing programs and employee performance and turnover, by analyzing data collected on participants in the 15-year-old Aurora Employee Homeownership Program. Findings presented in the report indicate that participants in the health care provider's Homeownership Program received higher-than-average performance rankings and exhibited lower levels of turnover than other employees.

Right at Home: Local Support for Employer-Assisted Housing. [PDF] 2003. By Samantha DeKoven. ideas@work 2(6). Campaign for Sensible Growth.
This article provides information on EAH strategies in Illinois, including matching funds and tax credits, and policies jurisdictions can adopt to facilitate these strategies. Several case studies are featured to illustrate how local governments and employers have used EAH strategies. One business, for example, saved $125,000 in 2001 through reduced turnover, recruiting and training after adopting a housing assistance program.

Understanding Employer Assisted Housing: A Guidebook for Employers. 2007. Prepared by Homes for Working Families (Washington, DC) and Metropolitan Planning Council (Chicago, IL).
This guidebook describes the basics of employer-assisted housing and its benefits to employers, employees, and the surrounding community. The book also features detailed case studies of 10 employers that have successfully implemented a housing benefits program, including program specifics, outcomes, and insights gained.

Understanding Employer-Assisted Mortgage Programs: A Primer for National Banks. [PDF] 2007. Community Development Insights. Washington, DC: Community Affairs Department, Comptroller of the Currency.
This report examines how banks can offer loan products to complement employer-assisted home purchase programs, also called Employer-Assisted Mortgage (EAM) programs. The report also discusses EAM programs offered in the conventional secondary mortgage market and provides a template for how a bank might establish its own EAM program.


Workforce Housing in the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area: A tale of local leaders crossing political boundaries in two states and several counties to solve the region’s workforce housing challenge. [PDF] August 2007.  My View.  Washington State Housing Finance Commission.
This case study presents the challenges and solutions to develop affordable, workforce housing in the Puget Sound region of Washington State.

Go to the Employer-Assisted Housing main page.