REVEALED: Inside the Taxpayer-Backed Network Paying Rent for RefugeesThe State Department suspended its grant. Separate HHS support kept the landlord-recruitment project operating.

...Afederally funded project recruiting landlords to house refugees kept operating after the Trump administration suspended its State Department award—with support from another federal agency.

The project, Refugee Housing Solutions, is run by Church World Service. It recruits property owners and connects them with ReHome, an online platform matching refugees and other newcomers with rentals....

Its own suspension announcement⁠ explains how the operation continued: work funded by the State Department stopped, while services supported by the Department of Health and Human Services remained.

The housing arrangements can include substantial financial assurances for landlords. A published case study⁠ describes a Philadelphia placement in which a resettlement agency paid the security deposit and first month’s rent, then promised to:

That is the model taxpayers are helping support through the landlord-recruitment operation. The source of money behind that particular guarantee is not disclosed.

The Federal Funding That Survived

The State Department suspended its Refugee Housing Solutions award effective January 24, 2025, during Trump’s foreign-aid review.

Church World Service said it stopped all work under that award and canceled associated services. But the same announcement said it was continuing at reduced capacity, providing services through its HHS project.

The HHS support predated the suspension. An October 2023 federal notice⁠ announced plans for nearly $2 million to expand the organization’s refugee-housing work. That notice already described funding through multiple federal channels.

The resulting federal spending record⁠ lists $1,984,144 committed and $1,798,045.37 paid out for “Enhancing Refugee Housing Solutions.”

Its purpose included expanding housing access for eligible Afghan and Ukrainian humanitarian parolees and other populations served by the Office of Refugee Resettlement.

The funding structure explains why suspending the State Department award did not end federal support for the operation.

Making Refugee Rentals Attractive to Landlords

The recruitment strategy is straightforward: find property owners, connect them with resettlement organizations and address the financial concerns that could prevent a lease.

The RHS–ReHome case study reports that a six-month pilot recruited 15 landlords and property managers offering more than 1,000 units. Separately, ReHome reported more than 50 rental matches across a user network spanning 25 states.

The 1,000-unit figure measures availability, not occupied homes.

The Philadelphia example illustrates the financial arrangement. The landlord joined ReHome in July 2024. An agency’s guarantee helped the family qualify for the rental, and the agency covered the upfront costs. The report says the family subsequently paid rent on time.

The appeal to property owners is explicit. On its landlord recruitment page⁠, RHS features a testimonial attributed to Scott Kelly, identified as CONREX Property Management’s chief operating officer, saying the program:

“protects the interests of our owners and investors.”

The same page invites landlords to list properties with ReHome and connect with local resettlement agencies.

Federal support helps sustain the organization making that business pitch.

Taxpayer-Funded Research Into Landlord Incentives

Before the suspension, the project also used State Department support to study what would persuade more landlords to participate.

.. ...

And the landlord partnership continued after the suspension. A March 25, 2026 update⁠ describes RHS and ReHome meeting with Lancaster-area landlords in December 2025 to strengthen their housing partnerships.

Church World Service (CWS) is a faith-based humanitarian organization founded in 1946
by Christian denominations to fight hunger, poverty, displacement, and disaster worldwide.

Core Programs

• Refugee Resettlement: Welcomes and helps resettle refugees, asylum-seekers, and immigrants by providing legal aid, arrival support, and integration services.

• Disaster Response: Delivers emergency relief, long-term community recovery, housing reconstruction, and supplies like cleanup buckets and blankets.

• Hunger Relief: Coordinates community initiatives like the CROP Hunger Walks to raise funds for local and global food-security projects.

• Global Development: Supports sustainable agriculture, climate resilience, and marginalized community leadership across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and North America.

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