Are you an OUSD Employee
looking for affordable housing?

TRiO Plus AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKETPLACE

We are building a coalition of public and private community stakeholders to ensure teachers of color can afford to live in the cities they teach and our kids stop paying the price for our broken housing system.

TRiO Plus connects Oakland teachers with discounted housing on our Affordable Housing Marketplace.

By opting units into the marketplace, property owners and managers not only gain access to great tenants, but support their communities by rooting teachers in the neighborhoods where they teach. Landlords can also benefit from lower vacancy, unit tour, and marketing costs, which can be particularly beneficial during the lease-up phase of new development projects.

Better schools help drive higher property values, so many of our collaborating landlords view their participation as not only the right thing to do for their communities, but as an investment in their properties and portfolios.

If you are a property owner or manager, please contact us to find out about gaining access to the marketplace and find out more about how you can be part of solving our affordable housing crisis!

If you are a teacher, contact us to find out more about how you can secure discounted housing through TRiO Plus.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • Apartments and other housing on the marketplace are exclusively marketed and shown to pre-screened Oakland teachers for a period of three weeks. If a unit is not leased during this exclusivity period, it then follows the owner or manager’s standard marketing and leasing process.

    Teachers use the marketplace to look for discounted housing that meets their specific criteria. Through the Teachers Rooted in Oakland (TRiO) housing stipend program, teacher residents can also qualify for monthly housing stipends. To find out more about the TRiO stipend program, please contact us.

  • Rent varies, depending on the unit. We aim to partner with landlords to secure a 10-20% discount, or its equivalent. Teachers can see the market rate and the TRiO Plus rate for each unit on the TRiO Plus Affordable Housing Marketplace platform. Participating landlords agree to offer discounted housing through rent concessions or by contributing to our housing stipend funding pool. Rent is typically set at market levels to avoid value impairment or risk lending covenants, and market-standard leases can be used. Market rent and concessions are determined at the time housing is accepted onto the marketplace.

  • If a teacher stops paying rent, the same legal remedies are available to landlords as for other tenants. Our team assists both teachers and landlords in reaching an amicable resolution if any of our teachers leave the program or the district.

  • Once approved, units are added to the marketplace and maintained by the TRiO Plus staff - there is no administrative burden on the landlord or property manager. To submit housing for approval, please contact TRiO Plus directly.

  • The high cost of housing in the Bay Area means that teachers struggle to qualify for apartments in the communities where they work. TRiO Plus encourages landlords and property managers to follow their regular processes in ensuring tenants qualify, factoring any stipends, concessions, or discounts into consideration.

    The TRiO Plus program provides a guaranteed housing stipend to certain eligible teachers which when combined with a teacher’s income will typically meet standard income underwriting guidelines.

  • At this time, only teachers employed by the Oakland Unified School District qualify for this program. To find out more about qualifying for TRiO Plus, please contact us directly.

  • At this time, only housing in the city of Oakland is available on the marketplace. We are actively evaluating expansion possibilities! Contact us to find out about making the marketplace available for teachers where you live.