Streamlining the Rehousing Process

Expanding Affordable Housing to Address Homelessness: Lessons from NYC and LA’s Master Leasing Programs

Zoom
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT

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A person holds out a set of house keys with a small house-shaped keychain, symbolizing homeownership or moving in.

As homelessness rises nationwide, leaders are seeking ways to expand permanent, deeply affordable housing — both through new development and immediate solutions using existing housing stock. One approach, master leasing, allows local governments or housing providers to use homeless response funds to lease private market units and sublease them at subsidized rates. Efforts in Los Angeles and New York City to leverage master leasing and property acquisitions show promise in quickly creating more affordable housing for people experiencing homelessness.

On March 11, 2025, Harvard’s Kennedy School Government Performance Lab, Joint Center for Housing and Homelessness, and Initiative on Health and Homelessness hosted a virtual panel on master leasing models. Experts from Los Angeles and New York City shared insights, including Kris Freed and Thomas Wong from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority and Meghan Smith from the NYC Department of Homeless Services and Patricia Dawson from the NYC Human Resources Administration.

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This event was co-sponsored by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Government Performance Lab housed at the Taubman Center for State and Local Government, the Joint Center for Housing Studies at the Graduate School of Design, and the Initiative on Health and Homelessness at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative.