(Washington, DC) - The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) has partnered with Socialserve.com, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit and national leader in housing locator services, to develop an affordable housing listing and locator service for District residents. The District’s site will operate under DCHousingSearch.org.

“We are committed to financing affordable housing development and to assisting residents in need of affordable housing (rental and homeownership) in identifying quality housing units,” said DHCD Director Leila Finucane Edmonds. “Partnering with SocialServe.com on an affordable housing locator service magnifies our ability to inform our residents about housing opportunities.”

The District’s online housing locator service will be available free of charge to individuals and property owners/managers.  Residents will be able to browse up-to-date, detailed listings to find available properties that meet their housing needs. Landlords and property managers will be able to use the service to list available properties.

“Individuals will be able to search by fields such as ward, zip code, price, the number of bedrooms, proximity to public transportation, accessibility features, and income or age restrictions,” said Kathryn Howell, a DHCD Strategic Programs Specialist working with SocialServe.com on the implementation of the District’s site.

The District’s site will also connect people to other housing resources through website links and provides helpful tools for renters such as an affordability calculator, rental checklist, and renter rights and responsibilities information.

Once in operation, the service will be available online 24-hours a day and supported by a toll-free, bilingual call center Monday – Friday from 9 am to 8 pm EST. Individuals who do not have Internet access will be able to receive personal assistance with listing or searching for properties through a toll-free, bilingual call center.

Edmonds anticipates opening the site for business on November 1.  Additional information, when available, will be posted.