The day we signed our first master lease in Los Angeles, we knew it could be an effective real estate tool to change the course of access to affordable housing.

A master lease puts an umbrella lease on a market-rate building, negotiating a lower rate per unit in exchange for no vacancy loss. It is particularly effective in rapidly scaling housing solutions for vulnerable populations.

We successfully convinced a for-profit student housing developer with no public-private partnership experience to turn their entire building over to individuals exiting homelessness - that’s relationship capital!

Since then, we placed 2nd in UChicago Rustandy Center’s Social New Venture Challenge, winning the seed funding we needed to scale Functional Housing. Every contribution allows us to deliver our master leasing product, providing high-quality affordable units in Chicago and beyond.