The New York City Housing Partnership has launched a major new program funded by a multi-year partnership with Airbnb to support gig workers and self-employed New Yorkers to qualify for mortgages to buy their first home.

“The lack of regular paystubs, W-2s or 1099s to document income often puts gig workers at a disadvantage when applying for a mortgage to buy their first home,” said Jamie A. Smarr, President and CEO of the non-profit NYC Housing Partnership. “The economy has undergone significant shifts for middle-class Americans. The goal for our new Pathways to Homeownership program is to help gig workers, freelancers, seasonal workers and the self-employed with non-traditional sources of income become homeowners. The program will also advise them how to present rental or hosting income to mortgage lenders when buying a house.”

Smarr expects the Pathways to Homeownership program to assist 1,000 gig workers annually in buying their first homes.

“Home ownership strengthens the social and economic fabric of neighborhoods throughout New York City,” said Smarr.

The Housing Partnership’s new Pathways to Homeownership program offers gig workers tailored workshops and one-on-one counseling to help document gig/self-employment income required for mortgage approval, as well as access to city, state and private down payment assistance and training classes on how to create income, sustain ownership, avoid foreclosure and build equity.

“Homeownership is one of the strongest pathways to building long-term financial stability and generational wealth, but too often low- and middle-income New Yorkers without traditional income sources have been shut out of the American Dream,” said Warren Gardiner, Airbnb New York Senior Policy Manager. We’re committed to supporting the NYC Housing Partnership in making homeownership a reality for New Yorkers to further the work they have been integral to for decades across New York City.

Funded in part through this multi-year partnership with Airbnb, the Housing Partnership maintains its broad mission—now in its 44th year—of creating and preserving affordable housing in the five boroughs of New York City by leading public-private partnerships as a non-profit joined by private sector developers and financial organizations, and City, state and federal agencies.

“This significant donation strengthens our ability to increase access to safe, comfortable affordable housing for New Yorkers,” said Jamie A. Smarr of the Housing Partnership.

"Access to homeownership has long been out of reach for independent workers due to outdated mortgage systems that don’t reflect the realities of self-employment. The Pathway to Homeownership program helps bridge a critical gap by supporting gig workers who are ready to buy a home but face barriers due to how their income is reported. We welcome this new initiative and Airbnb’s investment as a meaningful step to close that gap. Freelancers are building the future of work — it’s time our financial systems caught up.," said Rafael Espinal, President of Freelancers Union.

The NYC Housing Partnership’s Pathways to Homeownership program is an important expansion of its successful U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) approved Homeownership Counseling Program, established in 2005 to help low- to moderate-income New Yorkers fulfill the American Dream of homeownership.

“We partner with labor unions, organizations representing gig economy workers and community and faith-based organizations to reach target populations with financial coaching, subsidy navigation and ongoing post-home purchase counseling to sustain mortgages, accelerate equity growth and build intergenerational wealth. This helps create knowledgeable and default-resilient buyers ready for a lifetime of homeownership,” said Smarr.

“The Housing Partnership’s Home Ownership Counseling program provides all the necessary tools for first-time homebuyers to navigate the complex home purchase process. Our education and counseling programs are conducted by one of our HUD Certified Housing Counselors,” said Smarr.

The Housing Partnership also offers a Landlord and Tenant Training program for those purchasing homes covering the rights and responsibilities of being a good landlord. Landlord/Tenant training is required to purchase a home with a Community Reinvestment Act mortgage.

“Affordable home ownership for first-time buyers is a component of a multi-faceted solution to New York’s housing crisis,” said Smarr.

For more than four decades the nonprofit NYC Housing Partnership has led relationships among private sector developers and financial institutions and City, state and federal agencies that created and preserved nearly 100,000 low and moderate-income housing units in the five boroughs, leveraging over $11.1 billion in private financing and utilizing more than $550 million in subsidies for affordable housing.