OIM - Iom rental assistance operational guide

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RENTAL ASSISTANCE

OPERATIONAL GUIDERental Assistance Operational Guide Acknowledgements This guidance has built upon work undertaken by a range of IOM colleagues and teams, including in particular: • IOM Headquarters Shelter and Settlement Team’s “Key considerations in rental assistance” • IOM CBI Team’s unpublished draft of “Guidance for the provision of rental assistance” Discussions have also taken place with IOM country offices, particularly those in: Afghanistan, Colombia, Ecuador, Greece, Indonesia, Peru, Somalia and the Republic of Moldova. This work has also benefited from reference to the Global Shelter Clusters Rental Market Interventions Resource Page, specifically, Global Shelter Cluster (2020) Tipsheet 1: Assessment and Analysis. Rental Housing Market, a field handbook on rental market assessments in Latin America and the Caribbean, produced by a regional shelter task force, with support of CashCap and the Shelter Sector of R4V, has also been invaluable in informing this guide. We would like to specifically acknowledge the valuable inputs of the following individuals to the development of this guidance document: • IOM Shelter and Settlement Global Team: David Dalgado, Carolina Cordero-Scales, Jessica Mamo, Ibere Lopes (Housing, Land and Property (HLP)), Melina Holder (HLP), Mais Al Suradi and Jacobo Muelas. • IOM units and offices at Headquarters: Francisco Astudillo (Cash-Based Interventions (CBI)), Fouad Diab (CBI), Mitch Levine (Information Management (IM)), Iryna Rozka (Protection), Elena Pedrazzani (Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)), Kalinca Copello (Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion (LMI)), Maslarov Vladimir (Supply Chain) and Marlena Atanassova (Legal Affairs (LEG)).

(Protection), Elena Pedrazzani (Accountability to Affected Populations (AAP)), Kalinca Copello (Labour Mobility and Social Inclusion (LMI)), Maslarov Vladimir (Supply Chain) and Marlena Atanassova (Legal Affairs (LEG)). • IOM regional and country offices: Marta Leboreiro (R4V), Ghada Barakat (Afghanistan), María Fernanda Lozano (Colombia), Cilkova Martina (Czechia), Pamela Mejia (Ecuador), Claudia Samaras (Greece), Joshua Hart (Indonesia), Celia Izquierdo (Panama), Pablo Peña (Peru), Adriana Alegre (Peru), Monika KorowajczykSujkowska (Poland) and Kibriyo Yunusakhunova (Poland ), Marte Ibrahim (Republic of Moldova), Petru Zloi (Republic of Moldova) and Shezane Kirubi (Somalia). iiiRental Assistance Operational Guide Contents Acknowledgements .................................................................................................iii List of Tables and Figures .......................................................................................vi Key T erms .................................................................................................................vii Acronyms ...................................................................................................................xi

1. Overarching Guidance and Principles ...............................................................1 1.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2. IOM shelter and settlement assistance ......................................................................5 1.3. Rental assistance framework ........................................................................................12

2. Operational Guide ..............................................................................................17 2.1. Context assessment and analysis ...............................................................................17 2.2. Programme design and planning .................................................................................36 2.3. Implementation and management ..............................................................................55 2.4 Monitoring and evaluation .............................................................................................60

Annex. T oolbox .......................................................................................................65 References ................................................................................................................69 vTable 1. Potential risks and benefits of rental assistance....................................................................4 Table 2. Rental assistance and hosting assistance defined .................................................................5 Table 3. Rental assistance and relevant IOM strategies ......................................................................6 Table 4. Integrated response activities and responsible IOM programmatic areas and teams ....................................................................................................9 Table 5. AAP actions and considerations ...............................................................................................11 Table 6. Rental assistance programme components .........................................................................12

Table 3. Rental assistance and relevant IOM strategies ......................................................................6 Table 4. Integrated response activities and responsible IOM programmatic areas and teams ....................................................................................................9 Table 5. AAP actions and considerations ...............................................................................................11 Table 6. Rental assistance programme components .........................................................................12 Table 7. Considerations in rental assistance programme design .................................................17 Table 8. Considerations in a housing market assessment ...............................................................28 Table 9. Minimum information required for a rental housing market assessment .........................................................................................................................31 Table 10. T ypical risks to consider in a rental assistance programme and corresponding mitigation measures ...............................................................................35 Table 11. Sample matrix to determine size of accommodation unit based on household composition ............................................................................................43 Table 12. Considerations when paying through the tenant versus directly to the landlord ...................................................................................................49 Table 13. Selected advocacy areas and potential advocacy points and strategies ......................................................................................................................51 Table 14. Examples of rental assistance complementary programming .....................................52 Table 15. Staffing requirements for a rental assistance programme: an example .........................................................................................................................................56 Table 16. Selected types of monitoring .....................................................................................................61 Figure 1. IOM Shelter and Settlements programming scope .............................................................7 Figure 2. Housing market map .....................................................................................................................24 Figure 3. Market-based programming framework................................................................................25 Figure 4. Rental assistance programme process chart: an example from IOM in the Republic of Moldova ...................................................................................56 List of Tables and Figures List of tables and figures vi viRental Assistance Operational Guide Key T erms accountability to affected populations (AAP) IOM adheres to the Inter-Agency Standing Committee understanding of AAP, which defines it as “an active commitment by humanitarian actors to use power responsibly by taking account of, giving account to and being held to account by the people they seek to assist”. (Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), 2015:1) affected populations These are people in crisis-related contexts whom IOM seeks to assist under the Migration Crisis Operational Framework, which

account of, giving account to and being held to account by the people they seek to assist”. (Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC), 2015:1) affected populations These are people in crisis-related contexts whom IOM seeks to assist under the Migration Crisis Operational Framework, which also includes those at risk of being affected by a crisis. “Affected populations” also include communities and those that benefit from community-based programming, whether or not they are actually at risk, host affected populations, or are communities of origin, return or transit. (IOM, 2020:2) cash-based intervention(s) (CBI) “CBI” refers to all programs where cash transfers or vouchers for goods or services are directly provided to recipients, including individuals, households and communities. The term “cash-based intervention” is equivalent to terms used by other organizations, such as “cash and voucher assistance”, “cash-based transfers” and “cash transfer programming”. (IOM, 2022a:17) delivery mechanism Any means of delivering or transferring cash or vouchers to recipients (e.g. smart card, mobile money transfer, over the counter, cheque and ATM card). Some delivery mechanisms may also facilitate receipt, storage and payments (e.g. mobile wallet, bank account, and smart card). (IOM, 2024a) financial service provider (FSP) An entity that provides financial services, which may include e-transfer services. Depending on the context, financial service providers may include e-voucher companies, financial institutions (such as banks and microfinance institutions) or mobile network operators. FSPs include various entities (such as investment funds, insurance companies and accountancy firms) beyond those that offer humanitarian cash transfers or voucher services; hence, in CBI literature, an FSP generally pertains to any such entity providing transfer services. (IOM, 2022a:17) viifinancial support In this publication, the authors consider financial support to include all types of financial transactions that cover the cost

services; hence, in CBI literature, an FSP generally pertains to any such entity providing transfer services. (IOM, 2022a:17) viifinancial support In this publication, the authors consider financial support to include all types of financial transactions that cover the cost of rental accommodation. More broadly, this may include monthly rent, security deposits and the cost of utilities. These payments can be made to either the tenant (through a CBI) or the property owner. They can also include payments to service providers (hotel or hostel owners) and/or property owners. The financial support does not cover costs relating to technical services, such as legal fees to sign a lease agreement that are paid directly to the service provider. minimum expenditure basket (MEB) An MEB is an operational tool used to identify and calculate, in a particular context and for a specific moment in time, the average cost of a socioeconomically vulnerable household’s set of multisectoral basic needs that can be monetized and accessed in adequate quality through the local market. Goods and services included in the MEB should enable households to meet basic needs and minimum living standards without resorting to negative coping strategies or compromising their health, dignity and essential livelihood assets. An MEB can be calculated for different household sizes. It is not the same as transfer value but is an important tool that informs its calculation. (The CALP Network, 2022:7) multipurpose cash assistance (MPCA) This includes transfers (either periodic or one-off) corresponding to the amount of money required to cover, fully or partially, a household’s basic and/or recovery needs. The term refers to cash transfers designed to address multiple needs, with the transfer value calculated accordingly. [MPCA] transfer values are often indexed to expenditure gaps based on a minimum expenditure basket or other monetized calculation of the amount required to cover basic needs. All [MPCA is] unrestricted in terms of use as [it] can be spent as the recipient chooses. (IOM, 2024a) property owner

indexed to expenditure gaps based on a minimum expenditure basket or other monetized calculation of the amount required to cover basic needs. All [MPCA is] unrestricted in terms of use as [it] can be spent as the recipient chooses. (IOM, 2024a) property owner This can refer to the landlord of a rental property but can also include to the owner or management of a hotel or hostel. In some instances, in this document landlord has been used where it is more appropriate. (Ibid.) protection Refers to all activities aimed at obtaining full respect for the rights of the individual in accordance with the letter and the spirit of the relevant bodies of law (i.e. international human rights law, international humanitarian law, international refugee law).1 (IASC, 1999:4) 1 This is the definition adopted by the IOM Approach to Protection (IOM, 2023a). Key terms viii viiiRental Assistance Operational Guide rental housing market assessment A process that looks at the capacity of the rental housing market to absorb sudden increases in demand. In the humanitarian context, this analysis typically focuses on characteristics such as affordability (relative to target population), adequacy in terms of living conditions, legal barriers and tenure security (International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), 2020:20) security of tenure The protections under housing, land and property (HLP) rights enable what is commonly referred to as “security of tenure”, which can be defined as the level of certainty that an individual will not be evicted or dispossessed. It is the degree of reliability on the conditions that protect a person against forced eviction or any other infringement to their tenure. (IOM, 2023b:3) service provider Understood in this guide as a business or service providing access to accommodation, mainly referring to hotels and hostels, or small businesses providing rental accommodation. (IFRC, 2020:20) tenant An individual, family or household renting accommodation. (Ibid.) ixRental Assistance Operational Guide Acronyms

Understood in this guide as a business or service providing access to accommodation, mainly referring to hotels and hostels, or small businesses providing rental accommodation. (IFRC, 2020:20) tenant An individual, family or household renting accommodation. (Ibid.) ixRental Assistance Operational Guide Acronyms AAP accountability to affected populations CBI cash-based interventions FSP financial service provider GBV gender-based violence HLP housing, land and property (normally in relation to rights) ICT information and communications technology IDP internally displaced person LEG Office of Legal Affairs (of IOM) M&E monitoring and evaluation MEB minimum expenditure basket MPCA multipurpose cash assistance/allowance NGO non-governmental organization NRC Norwegian Refugee Council PSEA protection from sexual and sexual exploitation and abuse RMU Resource Management Unit (of IOM) SEA sexual exploitation and abuse S&S Shelter and Settlements (IOM programmatic area) WASH water, sanitation and hygiene promotion xi1. Overarching Guidance and Principles 1.1. Introduction 1.1.1. Scope of the guide and target audience IOM is one of the leading humanitarian actors in the delivery of dedicated humanitarian rental assistance. This operational guide capitalizes on the experience built to date of various IOM country offices and is intended to support the delivery of rental assistance by IOM country offices and their implementing partners. The guide provides the operational steps in the design and implementation of a rental assistance programme and is intended to be read by all operational personnel who might be involved in its design and delivery. Operational personnel (both of IOM and of implementing partners) who might find this guide useful include those working in the following areas: (a) Shelter and settlement; (b) Resource management, including supply chain, finance and administration; (c) Protection; (d) Accountability to affected populations (AAP); (e) Cash-based interventions (CBI); (f) Non-food items; (g) Livelihood; (h) Social and economic integration; (i) Programme and operations management. Although programme design and implementation may often be led and coordinated by the IOM Shelter and Settlements (S&S) T eam (where this exists at the country level), it

(f) Non-food items; (g) Livelihood; (h) Social and economic integration; (i) Programme and operations management. Although programme design and implementation may often be led and coordinated by the IOM Shelter and Settlements (S&S) T eam (where this exists at the country level), it is also recognized that rental assistance can be and is often delivered by IOM countrylevel staff from other teams (notably Cash-Based Interventions (CBI), Protection, and Social and Economic Integration). Regardless of who leads the delivery of rental assistance, this Operational Guide is intended to support staff (of both IOM and implementing partners) involved to include minimum processes and components of rental assistance that ensure IOM due diligence is undertaken and a “Do no harm” approach is adopted. Rental Assistance Operational Guide

11. Overarching Guidance and Principles 1.1.2. What is rental assistance?

Rental assistance is a type of shelter intervention that uses the private rental housing market to support people in accessing adequate shelter, 2 and where this will normally include an agreement between a property owner and a tenant household allowing use of accommodation for a specified period in exchange for rental payment. Adequacy of shelter refers to “a habitable covered living space providing a secure and healthy living environment with privacy and dignity to those within it” (Corsellis and Vitale, 2005:11). As such, IOM can support vulnerable people to live in safe and dignified living conditions. Rental accommodation also supports people’s choices: (a) It is often (but not always) far preferable to live in rental accommodation, since this meets permanent housing standards, rather than a collective centre or other temporary accommodation types (e.g. a container home or a tented camp). (b) Normally, the vulnerable person will choose the accommodation themselves, allowing them to choose accommodation that meets their households needs in an appropriate location that gives them access to markets, services, livelihood opportunities and transport, social and employment networks. Rental assistance is more than just assistance with rental payments (i.e. financial support to the tenant or the direct payment of rent to the landlord). It involves considering the

an appropriate location that gives them access to markets, services, livelihood opportunities and transport, social and employment networks. Rental assistance is more than just assistance with rental payments (i.e. financial support to the tenant or the direct payment of rent to the landlord). It involves considering the tenure security and the living conditions at the accommodation. Crucially, it also involves consideration of the sustainability of the intervention and supporting the household to be in a better position than before their involvement in the programme and to be able to exit the assistance scheme and still have access to adequate shelter. A rental assistance programme may include a broad range of components much larger than the purely-financial support component. This is why at the Global Shelter Cluster Cash Community of Practice, it has been agreed that the term “cash for rent” should be discouraged, and “rental assistance” should instead be used, as it highlights the more holistic nature of the support. 1.1.3. When can rental assistance be used? There is a wide range of situations in which people may find themselves wherein rental assistance can be appropriate. Such persons include: (a) Returnees; (b) Those in transit; (c) Those temporary displaced or who have relocated (e.g. because of conflict or disasters, or protection-related issues); 2 Note that the term “adequate shelter” is extensively defined in the Sphere Handbook (Sphere Association, 2018). 2 2(d) Those who are non-displaced and who were renting prior to a crisis that has led to an inability to continue paying rent and, thus, a risk of eviction (e.g. the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic) and displacement. There is a wide range of contexts in which it could be applicable: (a) Urban; (b) Peri-urban; (c) Rural (even in situations where there already was a limited rental housing market prior to the crisis, it may be found that a rental housing market develops or can be developed post-crisis). Rental assistance can be provided at all stages of the response, as part of preparedness (to avoid displacement), during the emergency, and in the mid-term and the longer term.

prior to the crisis, it may be found that a rental housing market develops or can be developed post-crisis). Rental assistance can be provided at all stages of the response, as part of preparedness (to avoid displacement), during the emergency, and in the mid-term and the longer term. 1.1.4. What are the enablers of rental assistance programming? The following can enable a rental assistance programme:3 (a) Renting is an accepted practice by the target population, host community and local authorities. (b) The housing market can provide enough affordable 4 properties that meet appropriate living condition standards, or the capacity exists to support improvements to the rental housing stock. (c) Secure tenure arrangements can be reached (whether these are statutory, customary or informal). (d) Cash or voucher assistance is an acceptable and feasible modality (when vouchers or subsidies are used), as long as the objective of ensuring access to safe, habitable and affordable housing is met. (e) Protection risks (e.g. evictions, discrimination and abuse) are understood and can be mitigated. (f) There is a realistic exit strategy for those supported with rental assistance that will still allow access to adequate accommodation when the support ends (e.g. How will the tenant sustain rental payments?), or an exit strategy can feasibly be developed for the duration of the programme. If none of the above exist to a fair extent, then the programme may be designed to take account of this. 3 Items (a) to (e) are adapted from IOM, 2022b; item (f) is adapted from IFRC, 2020:36–37. 4 “Enough” properties in this case means enough that any IOM programme would not adversely impact the access to rental accommodation for the wider host community, in addition to being sufficient to provide for the entire population IOM hopes to directly support. “ Affordability” can be crucial because it ensures the intervention’s target outcome is sustained when any financial support from IOM that goes towards rental payment ceases. Globally, affordable rent is often described as less than a third of the average household income.

“ Affordability” can be crucial because it ensures the intervention’s target outcome is sustained when any financial support from IOM that goes towards rental payment ceases. Globally, affordable rent is often described as less than a third of the average household income. Migrants are often paid less than the average income of the general population. As such, care may need to be taken to decide what is affordable for the target population of the intervention. In practice, this has sometimes been defined as a percentage range of the average (national) income, such as 25–33 per cent. Rental Assistance Operational Guide

31. Overarching Guidance and Principles 1.1.5. What are the potential benefits and potential risks of rental assistance?

Table 1 presents some potential risks and benefits of providing rental assistance. Table 1. Potential risks and benefits of rental assistance Potential benefits Potential risks Rental assistance enables immediate access to existing housing stock (e.g. apartments, hotels, houses and hostels), which can provide access to adequate housing. These examples may offer more dignity, privacy and security when compared to other types of accommodation, such as collective centres. Families may face discrimination based on gender, status, nationality and ethnicity, among others, and may not be able to secure accommodation. In addition, “right to rent” restrictions means that some families may only be able to secure overpriced or substandard accommodation. Rental assistance can empower households to exercise choice over their shelter options. Supported tenants may not be able to afford non-subsidized rent after the programme ends and may be further displaced, or resort to negative coping strategies. Done well, rental assistance programmes can benefit the host community economy and is a market-based intervention. Poorly conceived agreements can lead to exploitation, abuse, evictions and/or further displacement, while poor contract enforcement can result in rent increases or evictions and leave tenants without recourse. Rental assistance can reduce a vulnerable tenant’s inability to pay rent (as well as other support), which can reduce the risk of a property owner potentially

displacement, while poor contract enforcement can result in rent increases or evictions and leave tenants without recourse. Rental assistance can reduce a vulnerable tenant’s inability to pay rent (as well as other support), which can reduce the risk of a property owner potentially perpetrating sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) or other types of gender-based violence (GVB). Rental assistance also allows contact with vulnerable tenants, who can help identify and refer SEA or GBV, sometimes associated with the abuse of power by property owners over tenants. There is an inherent power imbalance between property owners and tenants, and where the intervention does not leave the tenant on a more financially sustainable footing at the end of the rental assistance programme, risk of abuse can remain in some contexts and with some property owners. Rental assistance is flexible and can support people on the move. Poorly conceived arrangements can result in increased liability for IOM and/or for vulnerable populations. It is likely that IOM will need to support tenants with dispute resolution at various stages of the programme. Rental assistance can reduce the number of people in collective centres and camps – environments that may be of higher protection risk and offer less private and dignified living arrangements. Where the rental housing market is not properly functioning or there are significant constraints on supply, excess demand can drive up rental prices, which reduces access to rental housing for both the vulnerable and the host community. Rental assistance allows for greater opportunities for the integration of displaced families into host communities. Collusion to commit aid diversion and fraud; property owner’s use of coercion on existing tenants to leave a property, in order to raise prices; or coercion on owners of illegally occupied properties. 4 4Potential benefits Potential risks Rental subsidies are often included