Dallas Spends $3M on ‘Master Leasing’ Program to Move Homeless Into Permanent Housing 

The Dallas City Council last week authorized the city manager to execute a $3 million, one-year contract with Housing Forward for master leasing services for the Office of Homeless Solutions. 

While council members agreed that the idea was a good one, Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn argued that the resolution — a 180-page contract that no one had time to read before the vote — doesn’t actually outline a master lease program, but rather an opportunity for voucher-holders to obtain immediate housing. 

Mendelsohn asked to defer the measure for five weeks so elected officials could study the proposal and ask more questions. It wasn’t briefed before the council’s Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, officials pointed out during the June 28 council meeting. 

“We still don’t have a master leasing program if we pass this,” Mendelsohn said. “If the individual is contracting with the landlord, that is not a master lease program.” 

Director of Homeless Solutions Christine Crossley acknowledged that the item was not briefed and the contract was delivered the morning of the council meeting. City staff placed the item on an agenda prior to the council’s summer break “because the need for housing is so dire,” Crossley said. 

The council ultimately passed the motion.

While the resolution adopted June 28 uses the term “master lease,” it does not meet the official U.S. Housing and Urban Development definition. The term “master lease” allows Housing Forward to secure units in bulk, Deputy City Manager Kim Tolbert said. 

“What it does not do is have the city serving as the potential landlord … The flexibility that the motion provided gave us an opportunity to then develop a program that we believe will be more advantageous to the City of Dallas,” Tolbert explained. 

The semantics didn’t matter to a majority of the council, who said they wanted to move swiftly to provide housing for the homeless. At least 844 people are waiting for housing and holding vouchers or rental subsidies, city officials said. 

“You can call it what you want,” said City Manager T.C. Broadnax. “I call it a place for people to be able to stay … If we can facilitate that, I think this council should feel good about that.” 

Master Leasing Versus Rental Assistance

Mendelsohn emphasized that master leasing is when an entity rents several different apartments and becomes the tenant. 

“They pay the landlord directly, and then they provide those services,” she said. “They decide who comes in, who goes out, and they accept rent from those people. This is how Houston does it. It’s not an expensive program because it’s really a high administrative burden and it’s a risk for whoever is the leaseholder. In this case, you have sent out a [request for proposals] for master leasing. The program that you’re describing is where an individual is contracting with a landlord. That is not master leasing. That is subsidized. That is helping people get housing and we already have that. That’s the Rapid Rehousing program.” 

The goal of housing someone is for them to build rental credit and to have someone vouch for them, Crossley explained. The units are obtained across the city in a manner that is equitable, she added. 

“In this case, it is more beneficial to start where we need to end, which is to secure the units,” she said. “This is the connective tissue that secures the units in bulk and then they are in the client’s name so that they can build that rental credit and stay there if they choose to. Otherwise, all we are doing is pushing the problem of accessing permanent supportive housing down the road. And for a voucher holder, they need to be able to access that housing to utilize their voucher, which has an expiration date if it is not used in time.” 

Housing Forward

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn King Arnold advocated for the program. Homelessness is killing neighborhoods and property values, she said. 

“We won’t be able to sell our homes, because you have all of these encampments and all these folks who are hanging around the grocery stores and the banks on Polk Street,” Arnold said. “All we’re asking for, staff, is for you to keep working and give us some relief so we can have the have an answer for the constituents when they’re calling and asking us, ‘Can’t you do something?’”

Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins echoed the sentiment that there is a huge homeless problem in Dallas and that something must be done immediately. 

“If you want to correct this and get this done, you can’t just kick the can down the road,” he said. “We need to get this done now. Every day, more homeless people are coming to Dallas because we are trying to find some kind of way to help the people. The jobless people, the homeless people, they’re African-American. They look like me. I will not sit here and kick the can down the road. It could have been me. It could have been my sister. It could have been my brother … If we don’t take the time right now and this $3 million … I can’t defer a human life.” 

District 10 resident Adam Lamont of Dallas Neighbors for Housing said Houston has had success with its master leasing program in reducing homelessness and adding housing. 

“I’m super excited to see this master leasing program get off the ground,” he told the City Council. “I’m sure Housing Forward will do great work in implementing it and I hope the city can work with the county to get even more funding to make the program sustainable.”