Find Housing in San Diego

Housing and Logistics Information for Refugees

If you are enrolled in IRC San Diego’s Reception and Placement (R&P) program, you will be provided with housing assistance. Upon arrival, you may stay with a friend or relative, or the IRC will arrange temporary housing for you, which may be a hotel room paid with limited R&P funds. Our Housing and Logistics team will begin looking for an apartment for you before you arrive.

The goals of IRC San Diego’s R&P Housing and Logistics Team are to

• Provide safe and affordable housing to IRC clients.
• Provide housing that is sustainable for clients in the short, medium and long-term.

About half of the people living in San Diego are renters. We will look for safe, secure housing for you. Usually, this will be an apartment or a very small home. Apartments and houses are very expensive to rent. A 2-bedroom apartment might cost $2,500 per month. While we understand that many refugees may want to live in a specific part of San Diego, that option is not always available because of the price and availability of units. We will work to find a unit for you and your family that is close to stores, bus stops, and schools to make it easier for you to get to work and the children to get to school. In addition, your friends and family in San Diego can also help you find an apartment.

If you do not agree to lease the apartment we find for you, you will need to look for an apartment yourself. This may be difficult because property management companies and landlords prefer to rent to clients with reliable jobs and a good credit score.

If you accept the housing IRC finds for you, we will go over the lease and assist you with paying the deposit and the first month’s rent. We will also provide furniture and supplies to help you get settled in.

Please note that R&P funds are limited, and the IRC will only be able to assist clients within their first 90 days and according to our program budgets.