Shelter and housing

See: Renters rights, Hotlines, and Drop in Centers

Shelters

Call 211 to be put on the waitlist for a 90 bed in a shelter. On especially rainy or cold nights extra beds open at emergency shelters.

Homeless Shelter Directory

Alameda County Housing and Homelessness Services (Home Stretch)

https://homelessness.acgov.org/home-stretch.page

Housing Resource Center Access Points

Homeless shelters that focus on survivors of DV

• Ruby's Place:
  • How to seek access: a call in is required. There's no guaranteed entry into the program. Entry into the program is conditional upon approval. Seeking shelter from DV is a requirement - Ruby's Place supports survivors whose experiences with DV range from within the past few months to a level of "at risk now". Ruby's Place, which is a family shelter, does not have a waitlist, but instead offers placement on a first-come-first-served basis for up to 90 days. In accordance with this, they recommend calling every day to check availability.
• A Safe Place
  • How to seek access: reachable by phone at the main line: 510.986.8600 or crisis line: 510-536-7233, A Safe Place does not have a case manager, rather approvals are granted via an assessment in the form of a qualification sheet. A Safe Place supports folks who are currently experiencing DV.
• Building Futures With Women and Children (San Leandro)
  • How to seek access: Reachable by phone at 866-292-9688. Call to learn status on availability and initiate an intake. From there, information from the intake will be passed to the case manager. Applicants will know if they've been accepted or denied within 5 business days.
• Safe House
  • How to seek access: Call 510-357-0205 to reach the main office for both available housing teams. Safe House supports folks who are actively fleeing abusive partners.
• Family Front Door
  • How to seek access: Reachable by phone at 510-808-7421. Family Front Door refers out to San Joaquin.
• Prevail
  • How to seek access: Reachable by phone at 209-465-4878. DV shelter that usually has housing.
• SAVE - (Fremont)
  • How to seek access: Reachable by phone at 510-794-6055.
• Narika - (Fremont)
  • How to seek access: 800-215-7308. Emergency shelter that offers food, transportation, and youth transitional homes. Narika supports individuals and families.
• Tri Valley Haven (intentionally undisclosed location)
  • How to seek access: Call 800-884-8119 to request an update on availability. Tri Valley Haven offers legal aid, shelter, and counseling services. Historically, they support survivors who are currently fleeing DV or who have past experiences with DV.
  • Tri Valley is comprised of 4 shelters. Three shelters offer stays of up to 105 days, The fourth shelter offers a stay of up to 2 years contingent upon graduating and transitioning from an educational program.

Homeless Outreach Teams

SF HOT

• If you need help navigating homeless services in San Francisco you can give them a call to see if they can help.
• 415-355-7401
• Location (drop-ins are discouraged):  50 Ivy Street, SF, CA 94102 and 2712 Mission Street, SF, CA 94110

Berkeley HOTT/The Hub

• If you need help navigating homeless resources in Berkeley or Albany call the Hub. They coordinate with Berkeley HOTT and Berkeley Food and Housing Project
• The Hub: (866) 960-2132
• Address for the Hub: 1901 Fairview Street Berkeley, CA 94703
• https://www.cityofberkeley.info/Council_4/Elected_Officials_and_Collections/Homelessness.aspx

Housing Co-ops

Do shared meals, chore spreadsheets, bylaw updating, and weekly house meetings sound like your jam? Check out the Bay Area co-op scene.

• http://www.bayareaca.org/housing

Finding sublets and rooms

Most folks post ads for roommates, sublets, and in-law suites in Facebook groups or on Craigslist. It's less common for sublets to require a credit or background check.

Craigslist

• https://sfbay.craigslist.org/

Facebook Groups

QTPOC Housing Bay Area California

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/497049597048928/

Trans* and Intersex Housing: SF Bay Area

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayAreaTransHousing/

Bay Area Housing for People of Color (BAHPOC)

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/BayAreHousingRoommatePOC/

Bay Area Housing

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/948845475189394/

San Francisco, SF - Housing, Apartments, Rooms, Sublets, Roommates

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/sfhousing/

SF Bay Area Rentals and Sublets

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/258201974518805/

Affordable Housing for Ok People: Bay Area

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/945920215452910/

Gay Area Queer Housing S.F. Bay Area

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/575006355917172/

Housing search tools

Padmapper

• Search apartments and homes to rent.
• https://www.padmapper.com/

Walkscore

• Rates how walkable a location is.
• https://www.walkscore.com/

Craigslist

• https://sfbay.craigslist.org/

Student housing

Berkeley Student Cooperative

• Both co-op rooms and apartments are available for full time students in the Bay Area.
• https://www.bsc.coop/

Cal Rentals

• Check out these tips for Cal students
• https://housing.berkeley.edu/calrentals/

SROs

Single Room Occupancy Hotels rent small rooms with shared restrooms and no cooking facilities. Most are poorly maintained, and have chronic habitability concerns.

Berkeley

Evan's Manor

• 2316 Haste St, Berkeley, CA 94704
• Phone: (510) 549-2094
• evansmanor@yahoo.com
• https://localwiki.org/berkeley/evans_manor

Low-Income Housing Waitlists

These are all long-term housing options for housing and most have long waitlists lasting 1+ years. Some have email lists that will let you know when the waitlist open. Others you'll have to check their website often for updates. Most of these aren't particularly affordable ($900-$1500 for single room). Spots that are based on income (usually 30%-50%), tend to be more competitive or have more eligibility requirements. Some require that you have a Section 8 housing voucher.

Episcopal Community Services (ECS)

• Creates low-income and affordable housing packets, updated each month for the Bay Area (email Julius Crane <jcrane@ecs-sf.org> to get onto their monthly email list)
• http://ecs-sf.org/programs/housing.html

Openhouse

• Creates low-income and affordable housing packets for SF, updated each month
• https://www.openhouse-sf.org/resources/housing-resources

Below Market Rate Units (SF Mayor’s Office)

• Units that are being rented out for below the market rate, avg. of 2-3 units open per month, ~$900 – 1300 for a studio/1BR in SF, done by lottery
• https://housing.sfgov.org/listings

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC)

• Low-income and affordable housing in the East Bay, some at 30% income, waitlist generally opens once per year
• http://ebaldc.org/how-to-apply/

Satellite Affordable Housing Associates (SAHA)

• Low-income and affordable housing, mostly in East Bay, ~1-2 units open per month
• http://www.sahahomes.org/apply

MidPen Housing

• Low-income and affordable housing in Bay Area, has not had open waitlists for a while
• http://property.midpen-housing.org/LeasingNow

Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC)

• Low-income and affordable housing in SF, will rarely have openings, sometimes they are listed through the Below Market Rate units through the Mayor’s Office
• http://www.tndc.org/find-a-home/rental-opportunities/

Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC)

• Low-income and affordable housing in SF, two waitlists indefinitely open as of August 2019
• http://www.chinatowncdc.org/our-housing/apply-for-housing

Alameda County Housing Choices

• Search engine for low-income and affordable housing opportunities in Alameda County
• http://achousingchoices.org/

One Home Bay Area

• Search engine for low-income and affordable housing in the Bay Area, few (if any at all) listings for SFCA
• https://www.onehomebayarea.org/

Eden Housing

• Low-income and affordable housing in the Bay Area, mostly senior/disabled housing
• https://www.edenhousing.org/now-leasing

BRIDGE Housing

• Low-income and affordable housing in the Bay Area, mostly senior/disabled/family housing
• http://bridgehousing.com/properties/rental-opportunities

Mercy Housing

• Low-income and affordable housing in the Bay Area, mostly senior/disabled/family housing
• https://www.mercyhousing.org/california-properties

Resources for Community Development (RCD)

• Low-income and affordable housing in the Bay Area, mostly senior/disabled/family housing
• https://rcdhousing.org/housing-development/property-search/

APEB (formally AIDS Project of the East Bay)

• Low-income and affordable housing in Alameda for individuals living with HIV/AIDS
• Also provides comprehensive sexual health education, testing, and treatment services
• https://apeb.org

Section 8

Section 8 provides vouchers that can be applied to rental assistance or the purchase of a home. These are managed by the goverment Housing Authorities of cities and counties. Most Section 8 voucher adjust your rent to 30% of your income.

Know that many voucher waitlists are rarely open, long, and the majority of people who apply for vouchers do not get one.

Section 8 Waitlists (after you get a voucher)

• List of all the section 8 opportunities in CA, 30% income, federally funded housing
• https://affordablehousingonline.com/open-section-8-waiting-lists/California

San Francisco Housing Authority

• Section 8 waitlist in SF, waitlist rarely open and only for a brief period.
• http://sfha.org/Pages/wl.aspx

Contra Costa Housing Authority

• Section 8 waitlist for project-based vouchers, paper application at the bottom of the main page
• http://www.contracostahousing.org/

Berkeley Housing Authority

• Section 8 waitlist in Berkeley, waitlist rarely open and only for a brief period.
• https://www.cityofberkeley.info/BHA/Home/Section_8_Wait_List.aspx

Oakland Housing Authority

• Section 8 waitlist in Oakland, waitlist rarely open and only for a brief period.
• http://www.oakha.org/Residents/Housing%20choice-voucher-residents/Pages/default.aspx