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Q&A
Role and responsibilities of marketing agents in the affordable housing lottery process
0:57:59
·
4 min
Council Member Sanchez inquires about the role and responsibilities of marketing agents in the affordable housing lottery process. HPD officials explain who marketing agents are, their qualifications, and their role in selecting lottery winners.
- Marketing agents can be independent companies or departments within housing developers
- They must be pre-qualified and trained in HPD marketing, low-income housing tax credit eligibility, and fair housing
- There are currently about 63 pre-qualified marketing agents
- Marketing agents review applicants for eligibility, while HPD confirms final selections
- Language access requirements ensure applicants can access services in their preferred language
Pierina Ana Sanchez
0:57:59
Thank you.
0:58:02
What is a marketing agent?
0:58:03
Who is a marketing agent?
0:58:05
What are what are their duties and responsibilities?
0:58:13
are these people?
0:59:39
to be on our marketing agent pre qualified list.
0:59:43
Who who is selecting the winners of the lottery?
0:59:50
Is that the marketing agent or is that happening at the agency?
1:00:20
does this there I think you said something insane, like, a couple million applications for 10,000 units that were went up for rental last year.
1:00:30
Though that universe of applicants that were cycled through to get to to to those 10,000 winners, who selected that universe?
1:01:36
Got it.
1:01:37
How many how many marketing pre qualified marketing agents are there?
1:01:58
Got it.
1:01:59
Thank you.
1:02:00
Are there language proficiency requirements for marketing agents?
Emily Osgood
0:58:10
That was such an energetic question.
0:58:12
Who
0:58:13
Who are these people?
0:58:14
So marketing agents are company they can be their own companies.
0:58:21
They can be departments of housing developers we find.
0:58:26
Some have simultaneous some simultaneously work in property management or development.
0:58:34
Others are specifically focused on this marketing process through the housing lottery.
0:58:42
There are organizations that, as the commissioner mentioned, have to qualify by showing that they are trained and have capacity in running this lottery process.
0:58:55
That means that they need to attend our fairly extensive HPD marketing agent training.
0:59:04
We that they are trained in low income housing tax credit eligibility, which drives much of our income qualification criteria, as many know, and that they are trained in fair housing by a qualified provider.
0:59:22
We take a look at that as part of the prequalification process, confirm that their their facilities, their tools are accessible and up to our standards and meeting those thresholds, then we would approve them
0:59:55
It is both.
0:59:56
The marketing agent is interacting directly with the applicant to do that income eligibility review, all of the detailed confirmation and documentation that's required, and then the agency is confirming that everything is in order before the applicant is offered the opportunity to sign a lease.
1:00:20
Right.
1:00:20
But who
1:02:05
There are language access requirements, so I can get back to you on the specifics or they can be found in our marketing handbook.
1:02:16
Happy to provide those, but an applicant needs to be able to access the services in the language that they speak or read or use.
1:02:27
And marketing agents are responsible per for providing that.
Ahmed Tigani
1:00:38
So if I understand correctly, the marketing agents are the ones reviewing the applicants, they are selecting the ones that are eligible, and we reviewed the file to make sure that they're eligible.
1:00:49
The log is how we make sure that they've gone through in the appropriate order based on the log number they were issued after randomization at the top end.
1:00:57
The first step is to go through the existing preference categories, whether it's municipal, mobility, the community preference, and then move into the general population.
1:01:09
So those are the two tiers, but it's randomization, log number, cycle through, the applicants are selected, and then the files reviewed for confirmation.
1:01:22
We do a back end audit now, and that way we make sure, and that way we make sure that things are done properly.
1:01:29
But we have at any point the ability to request information or review things that are in process.
1:01:41
There are about 63 right now on the list.
1:01:44
We actually, yeah, we have about 63 on the list, and we are, we have made changes to the process to streamline that work in case there are other qualified teams in, you know, in the communities that want be part of this.