Assessing accessible housing availability in a rural state using Socialserve.com-- a searchable web-based interactive database

SocialServe.com, a national web-based nonprofit organization designed for low income renters searching for affordable housing, maintains 29 state websites. Landlords enter rental unit profiles into a database that they can activate for advertisement on-line. Profiles include: rent and move-in costs, acceptance of Section 8 vouchers and other rental assistance programs, age restrictions, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, presence of accessible parking, no step entries, and grab bars or reinforced walls for the installation of grab bars in bathrooms, etc. The Montana Department of Commerce began supporting Socialserve.com (a.k.a. MTHousingSearch.com) in 2009 as a housing search tool for Montana residents. Nearly 90% of MTHousingSearch.com listings are apartments. The Montana Disability and Health Program (MTDH) investigated SocialServe.com's potential for communicating about accessible housing and as a comprehensive statewide database that could be used to describe the availability of accessible and visitable rental housing. Initial analyses led to recommendations implemented by SocialServe.com. Subsequent analyses indicated that 4.8% of the apartments listed on the website were visitable (a minimum standard of access to people with mobility impairments) and that 12.5% of the units covered by the Fair Housing Act (e.g., multi-family buildings containing four or more units built and occupied after March 1991) met Fair Housing criteria. Presenters will describe grassroot efforts to increase landlord and service providers participation in MTHousingSearch.com; system improvements for accessible housing searches; Montana's need for accessible housing compared to the amount and types of accessible housing described in MTHousingSearch.com; and MTHousingSearch.com's potential as a comprehensive statewide database.