The City and County of San Francisco and FUSE are working together to build on the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD)’s success with DAHLIA, the centralized platform where residents find and apply for affordable housing through a single application and lottery. After the lottery, though, leasing is handled by many nonprofit developers and property managers who interpret eligibility rules, documentation requirements, and compliance procedures differently across funding sources. That variation slows lease-up, confuses applicants, and drains provider resources, and it can create added barriers for households with credit challenges or past housing instability. Complexity grows further where MOHCD processes overlap with San Francisco Housing Authority waitlists, which carry their own federal rules, preferences, and verification steps.
Starting in Fall 2026, the Fellow Joe Harrington will meet with MOHCD staff, nonprofit developers, property managers, leasing consultants, the City and County’s Digital Services team, and the Housing Authority, while reviewing tax credit rules, HUD guidance, and local policies. Harrington will then bring providers together to identify where resident selection criteria, documentation, and workflows can be standardized while staying compliant with funding and fair housing rules, and will work with Digital Services on DAHLIA improvements for waitlists, applicant communication, and automation. Early pilots with selected providers may test standardized procedures. By Fall 2027, deliverables will include a lease-up process analysis, a standardized leasing protocol framework, a DAHLIA enhancement strategy, a provider implementation toolkit, and a standing coordination forum for ongoing alignment.
