HousingLink

What HousingLink does

HousingLink is a Minnesota-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1997 to serve as the statewide affordable housing information clearinghouse mandated by the 1995 Hollman v Cisneros Consent Decree. It operates housinglink.org, a free self-serve web platform where Minnesota renters search for affordable rental vacancies, subsidized housing waiting lists, and barrier-overcoming programs, while landlords and property managers list properties at no cost. The organization targets three primary customer segments: renters with housing barriers (criminal, credit, eviction, or voucher-holding), landlords and property managers seeking qualified tenants, and human service agencies / policymakers requiring housing data. Its core products include the Streams database (4,196 properties, 169,894 units across all 87 Minnesota counties), the Twin Cities Rental Revue quarterly subscription report ($469/year), the Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance product ($300 per purchase providing $2,000 landlord coverage), multiple city/county Rental Housing Briefs, and an interactive Twin Cities Rental Housing Trends dashboard.

The underlying technology is a web platform combining proprietary databases of contractually-obligated affordable housing stock with observed private-market rental listings, augmented by an AI-assisted chatbot on the Streams database and a Rent Predictor model co-developed with the University of Minnesota's Carlson Analytics Lab. Distribution is digital-first via the website, bi-weekly and monthly email newsletters (Housing Connection, Landlord Link, HAWL alerts totaling over 13,000 subscribers), YouTube content, and webinars delivered to regional housing forums. HousingLink monetizes through a hybrid model: earned income (data subscriptions and Beyond Backgrounds transaction fees), government contracts for housing information services, and philanthropic grants from foundations such as McKnight, Otto Bremer, and Family Housing Fund, plus government funding from Hennepin County, Minnesota Housing, and the Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Notable partnerships include the Metropolitan Council, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Suburban Metro Area Continuum of Care, Dakota County, Ramsey County, and the Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs, supporting programs for renters with criminal, credit, and rental history barriers.

Name

HousingLink

Legal name

HousingLink

Website

https://housinglink.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

HousingLink is a Minnesota 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating a free statewide web clearinghouse for affordable rental housing, serving renters with barriers, landlords, and policymakers with subsidized housing databases, rental market data, and the Beyond Backgrounds financial assurance program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Affordable Housing Information Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Off-Campus Housing Support & Landlord Relations (EDALACAJ)

Keywords

• Affordable housing clearinghouse
• Rental vacancy search
• Subsidized housing database
• Rental market research
• Landlord tenant education

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: Contracts with government agencies for housing information services and data provision, including HUD-funded work and partnerships with housing authorities.
2. Data Subscriptions: Subscription-based revenue from Twin Cities Rental Revue quarterly reports at $469/year, providing median rent data to researchers and industry professionals.
3. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable contributions from foundations and individual donors supporting nonprofit operations. Major funders include McKnight Foundation, Otto Bremer Foundation, and others listed in annual reports.
4. Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance: Renter-purchased financial assurance product at $300 per purchase, providing landlords access to $2,000 coverage for damages, unpaid rent, and legal fees beyond security deposit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HousingLink operates a free web-based platform where renters search for affordable rental housing vacancies and subsidized waiting list openings throughout Minnesota, while landlords list properties at no cost. The organization supplements the core platform with proprietary data products (Streams affordable housing database, Twin Cities Rental Revue quarterly rent report, rental housing briefs) and the Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance program ($300) that gives landlords up to $2,000 in coverage when renting to applicants with criminal, credit, or eviction history.

Product overview

HousingLink operates a unified web platform centered on its core free rental listing service, supplemented by data products and programs. The core HousingLink Website Platform enables renters to search affordable housing vacancies and landlords to list properties for free. The Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance module ($300 insurance) addresses barriers for applicants with criminal, credit, or eviction histories. Data products include Streams (affordable property database with AI assistant), Twin Cities Rental Revue (quarterly rent report), Twin Cities Rental Housing Trends (interactive dashboard), multiple Rental Housing Briefs (city/county-specific), MN Housing Measures (annual visualization), and Housing Counts (annual production/preservation report). Additional services include the Housing Authority Waiting List newsletter (HAWL), Waitlist Central (centralized waitlist management), Housing Connection newsletter, Landlord Education training, and a Fair Housing resource center. The platform primarily serves the Minnesota market, particularly the Twin Cities metro area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Beyond Backgrounds: A program that provides support to landlords willing to rent to someone with criminal, credit, or rental history barriers. Offers up to $2,000 of financial assurance to cover damage, unpaid rent, and legal fees.
• Streams
• Twin Cities Rental Revue
• Housing Authority Waiting List (HAWL)

Products and services

• HousingLink Website Platform Free web platform enabling renters to search affordable rental housing vacancies and subsidized housing waiting list openings throughout Minnesota, and enabling landlords and property managers to list rental properties for free.
• Beyond Backgrounds Financial Assurance $300 insurance product providing landlords with up to $2,000 of coverage for damages, unpaid rent, and legal fees when renting to qualifying applicants with criminal, credit, or rental history barriers; open to renters statewide.
• Streams Searchable database of over 4,196 publicly-funded affordable rental properties in Minnesota with 169,894 total units, tracking properties with long-term affordability commitments including LIHTC, Project-Based Section 8, Public Housing, and other subsidy programs across all 87 Minnesota counties.
• Twin Cities Rental Revue Quarterly subscription report at $469/year providing median rents for multifamily, single family, duplex, condo, and townhome rentals across 66 sub-markets in the Twin Cities metro area, analyzing 10,000-15,000 unique rental vacancy listings monthly.
• Twin Cities Rental Housing Trends Interactive, rolling 12-month visualization displaying key rental market trends for the seven-county Twin Cities Metro Area including median rents, building type composition, tax credit vs. market rate comparisons, affordability by income level, NOAH vacancies, and Section 8 voucher acceptance rates.
• Housing Authority Waiting List Alerts (HAWL) Newsletter service notifying over 8,000 subscribers when major subsidized housing waitlists open for programs such as Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers in the Twin Cities area.
• Waitlist Central (Housing Hub) Centralized waitlist management platform enabling applicants to join waitlists from any device, update contact information in one place, and allowing properties to fill vacancies faster with reduced administrative burden.
• Rental Housing Briefs (Minneapolis, St Paul, Hennepin County) Monthly and quarterly reports analyzing the state of rental housing in Minneapolis, St Paul, and Hennepin County, covering median rents, building types, tax credit vs. market rate comparisons, Housing Choice Voucher acceptance, subsidized waiting lists, and rental license data.
• MN Housing Measures Annually-updated interactive visualization tracking three key affordable housing metrics: private market affordability (60% and 30% AMI), subsidized housing stock (contractually-obligated units and vouchers), and funding sources (federal, state, and philanthropic).
• Housing Counts Annual report and interactive visualization accounting for affordable housing production and preservation in Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and suburban communities, tracking new construction vs. preservation by AMI bands.
• Landlord Education Online training recordings and webinars for rental property owners and managers covering landlord/tenant law, fair housing, background screening, rental property inspections, and Minneapolis renter protections.

Quantifiable outcome

• 47% of Minnesota renter households pay more than 30% of income on housing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and notable.

• Metropolitan CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partnership utilizing Metropolitan Council's Housing Production Survey data for Housing Counts report. Partnership reduced reporting burden on local government partners and increased data input scope.
• The McKnight FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Long-standing partnership for MN Housing Measures visualization, evolved from 2007-2018 baseline measures effort. McKnight Foundation provides funding and strategic guidance for affordable housing data initiatives.
• Family Housing FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2002Annual joint publication of Housing Counts report since 2002, providing systematic accounting of affordable housing production and preservation in Twin Cities seven-county metro area. Collaborative data partnership tracking municipal and regional affordable housing goals.
• Federal Reserve Bank of MinneapolismajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributes data to Regional Housing Dashboard and collaborative research efforts. Staff member Libby Starling serves as Senior Community Development Advisor at Federal Reserve.
• Minnesota Housing Finance AgencymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerState housing finance agency partner; staff member Summer Jefferson serves as Housing Tax Credit Supervisor. Agency provides data and funding for housing initiatives.
• Suburban Metro Area Continuum of Care (SMAC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting Beyond Backgrounds program that has housed 50+ people with criminal, credit, and rental history barriers. Collaborative effort for housing stability services.
• Dakota CountycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty partner for Beyond Backgrounds program implementation. Through partnership, Beyond Backgrounds has supported landlords renting to people with housing barriers in Dakota County.
• Ramsey County Outside in CollaborativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Ramsey County for Beyond Backgrounds program serving families on shelter waitlists. New partnership announced in 2019 for housing support services.
• Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs (MDVA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to end veteran homelessness by providing Beyond Backgrounds access to Veterans on the homeless registry, helping them find housing.
• Hennepin CountymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCounty government partner listed in 2022 supporters; contributes to housing data and research initiatives; provides services for homelessness resources on Waypoint platform.
• Carlson Analytics Lab (University of Minnesota)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated Rent Predictor tool using historical rent values and socioeconomic data to predict future area rents for Twin Cities Metro, on behalf of McKnight Foundation and HousingLink.
• City of MinneapolismajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity government partner listed in 2022 strategic partnerships; collaborated on affordable housing projects and initiatives.
• City of St. PaulmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity government partner listed in 2022 strategic partnerships for housing initiatives and data collaboration.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks2 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCOayo1Yxmlbo61ssrihsUBA
• Xx.com/housinglink
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/housinglink

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about HousingLink