Doorway Housing Portal Terms of Use

Last Modified: May 14, 2026. Effective Date: June 29, 2023.

Overview

The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (“BAHFA”) was created pursuant to Government Code § 64510 et seq. to raise, administer, and allocate funding and provide technical assistance at a regional level for tenant protection, affordable housing preservation, and new affordable housing production.  BAHFA is a joint effort of both the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (“MTC”) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (“ABAG”).  Under Government Code § 64520(j), MTC provides administrative and program services to BAHFA.  

BAHFA, MTC and ABAG (collectively referred to as the “Agencies”) offer the Doorway Housing Portal, housingbayarea.org, housingbayarea.mtc.ca.gov or partners.housingbayarea.mtc.ca.gov (collectively and individually, the “Website”) for the purpose of connecting eligible households to opportunities for affordable housing, whether for sale or for rent, within the San Francisco Bay Area, which is comprised of the City and County of San Francisco, the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma, and the cities within those counties, referred to as the “San Francisco Bay Area”.

Definitions

Affordable Housing:

Housing for which the rent or purchase price is regulated by a public entity through a document recorded against the property where the housing is located.

Anonymized Data

Anonymized Data is information from which PII (defined below) has been removed so that the individual cannot be identified. Anonymized Data is generally used by the Agencies for statistical analysis, reporting, improving the content of Agencies’ web services, and helping the Agencies understand how people are using Website services. Anonymized Data may be shared with third parties and published in any publicly available media.

Applicant

Individual who submits an application, including PII (defined below), with information about the Applicant and the Applicant’s household to secure Affordable Housing.  

Household Member

Individual who has been included on an application who is either the Applicant or an individual who would reside with the Applicant at the Affordable Housing identified in the Listing.

Doorway Partner Portal (DPP) Data Explorer

The DPP Data Explorer provides Professional Partners (defined below) and jurisdictions the ability to query Doorway application data and provides AI-generated high-level observations.  

Note: AI outputs can be unpredictable. The summaries provided are generated by artificial intelligence and may contain errors, biases, or incomplete information. 

The insights generated are meant to supplement, not replace, professional judgment, and thorough analysis. 

The AI insights are provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as the sole basis for important decisions.

Duplicate Applicant

An individual of at least eighteen years of age who is an Applicant on two or more submitted applications for the same Listing.

Duplicate Household Member

An individual of at least eighteen years of age who is listed as a Household member by Applicant(s) on two or more submitted applications for the same Listing.

Duplicate Application

An application that has listed a Duplicate Applicant or Duplicate Household Member.  Additionally, an application that includes the same Applicant and Household Member(s) as a previously submitted application, but also includes additional Household Members, is still considered a Duplicate Application.

Listing

Notice that Affordable Housing unit(s) is/are available for occupancy.

Local Government

Either a city, county or other public entity county located within the San Francisco Bay Area, which is comprised of the City and County of San Francisco and the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma. 

Personal Identifiable Information (PII)

Information that identifies or describes a person or can be directly linked to a specific individual.  Examples of PII include, but are not limited to, name, email address, and telephone number. Please note that the Website does not collect social security numbers or bank account numbers for Applicants.      

Professional Partner

Individual or entity who owns or manages Affordable Housing and who seeks to sell or rent it to a qualified household.

User

Individual who accesses or uses the Website, such as a Visitor, Applicant, Professional Partner or Local Government.

Visitor

Individual who visits the Website to view Affordable Housing Listings.

Conditions of Use

These Terms of Use apply to any access or use of the Website, including without limitation any content or feature of the Website, by any User.  By accessing, submitting an online or paper application, or otherwise using the Website, you acknowledge that the Website constitutes property owned by the Agencies and agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use and further acknowledge consent to our collection and use of information as set forth in the Privacy Policy.

PLEASE REVIEW THESE TERMS OF USE AND THE PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, WHICH INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, SUBMITTAL OF AN ONLINE OR PAPER APPLICATION OR POSTING OF A LISTING, CONSTITUTES YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS OF USE AND THE PRIVACY POLICY.

License for Use

Subject to these Terms of Use, the Agencies grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive license to access and use the Website, for your personal, individual, non-commercial (except as expressly allowed herein for the purpose of notifying the public and Applicants of Affordable Housing opportunities) and non-automated use only for the purpose of posting a Listing in the San Francisco Bay Area, searching the Listings and to receive notification of new Listings, applying for a Listing and reviewing information submitted by Applicants to determine eligibility for occupying an Affordable Housing unit and compliance with an applicable regulatory agreement.

Paper Applications

For listings that offer native Doorway application functionality (not simply forwarding the applicant to another website to complete an application), the Website also provides the option to download a paper application for submission by mail.  For each listing, Applicant must submit the paper application provided from the link  for that specific listing and hereby acknowledges that Doorway will reject any other application form submitted.

Paper applications must be received by the application deadline. Applications that have been post-marked by the application deadline but received thereafter will not be accepted. 

The Agencies are not responsible for mail or packages lost, misplaced or delayed by the United States Postal Service (USPS) or any other delivery service provider. For any such issues, please contact USPS or the service provider directly for assistance.

Specified properties allow Applicants to drop off paper applications at the property address. In these instances, the Professional Partner must handle such applications as follows:

1. Property staff shall begin accepting paper applications no earlier than the day and time the listing on the Doorway Housing Portal becomes available and shall continue to accept applications up to two days prior to the application due date and time noted in the Doorway Housing Portal to allow property staff time to mail to Doorway all paper applications by the application deadline. Any paper applications received at the property site after this timeframe shall be rejected.
2. Property staff shall mail paper applications to Doorway prior to the application deadline. Applications must be sent via a trackable overnight delivery service, with delivery required no later than one business day thereafter, to the following address: 
   Doorway Housing Portal 
   375 Beale Street, 7th Floor 
   San Francisco, CA 94105 
   Attn: Babs Deffenderfer 
3. On the same day the applications are mailed, property staff shall email the shipping details, including the name of the shipping provider and tracking number, to: doorway@bayareametro.gov. 
4. This document shall be posted at the Properties’ front desks, so that it may be easily seen and referenced by any staff person at the desk.

Duplicate Applications

Each individual, who is at least eighteen years of age, whether listed as an Applicant or Household Member, may be included on only one application per Listing.  If a Duplicate Application(s) is received for a Listing, and each Duplicate Application has the same applicant and Household Members, then the Duplicate Application most recently submitted by the applicable deadline will be considered, and all other Duplicate Applications will not be considered for the Listing.

If the Duplicate Application most recently submitted for a Listing includes additional Household Members, then that Duplicate Application most recently submitted by the applicable deadline will be considered, and all other Duplicate Applications will not be considered for the Listing.

If a Duplicate Application(s) is submitted for a Listing, and at least two different Applicants have submitted the Duplicate Applications with at least one Duplicate Household Member, or an Applicant has submitted Duplicate Applications that include different Household Members who are at least eighteen years of age with at least one Duplicate Household Member who is at least eighteen years of age,  then all of the Applicants who submitted a Duplicate Application will be notified and the most recently submitted Duplicate Application will be considered.  The earlier submitted Duplicate Applications will be discarded unless the Applicants for each Duplicate Application within 72 hours of being provided notice of a submittal of a Duplicate Application, agree to the following in writing:

• The Applicant for an earlier dated Duplicate Application agrees to proceed with the submitted application for the Listing; and
• All other Applicants agree to withdraw their Duplicate Application for the Listing.

If, however, an individual appears on at least one application as an Applicant in a one-person household and is listed on a different application as a Household Member, the application in which the individual appears as an Applicant in a one-person household will be considered, and the application in which the individual appears as a Household Member will be discarded, unless the Applicants for each Duplicate Application within 72 hours of being provided notice of a submittal of a Duplicate Application, agree in writing to use the application that includes both individuals.

Applicants must inform Household Members of any updates regarding their application. Applicants must notify Household Members if a Duplicate Application has been submitted on their behalf and inform them about the procedures regarding Duplicate Applications.

Applicants consent to being provided notice via the email addresses or physical addresses provided on applications.

See Doorway Duplicate Application FAQ’s at the end of this document for examples of how Duplicate Applications are processed by the Agencies.

Limitations and Disclaimers

The Website may allow you to access various content. Most of this content is generated by either Professional Partners or Applicants, and not by any of the Agencies. You acknowledge and agree that this type of content is provided for general purposes only; and you acknowledge that circumstances may cause information to differ from what is presented through the Website. You agree to exercise all reasonable judgment and take all appropriate steps, including without limitation consulting additional sources of information and taking all appropriate safeguards, in relation to your use of any such information. 

YOU AGREE THAT THE AGENCIES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR RELIANCE ON THE WEBSITE. “USE OF WEBSITE” AS USED IN THIS SECTION SHALL HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS “USE OF WEBSITE” AS USED IN THE INDEMNITY SECTION IN THESE TERMS OF USE.

THE AGENCIES PROVIDE THE WEBSITE “AS IS,” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND; AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, THE AGENCIES DISCLAIM ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY REGARDING THE WEBSITE —INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, FREEDOM FROM INTERRUPTION OF SERVICE OR AVAILABILITY, FREEDOM FROM VIRUS OR OTHER HARMFUL CODE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.
 

Restrictions on Use

Unless you have received prior written authorization from one of the Agencies:

• You may not sell, rent, lease, re-distribute, re-publish, re-transmit, display publicly, modify, create derivative works from, or otherwise exploit the Website, or any of its content;
• you may not access or use the Website through any technology or means other than those provided in the Website;
• you may not access or use the Website in a manner that gives you or any other person access to mass downloads or bulk feeds of any content from the Website;
• you may not access or use the Website through any automated or non-human means, such as through bots, spiders, scripts, or software, except where such means are used for the sole purpose of search engine optimization;
• you may not access or use the Website for purpose of scraping, harvesting, mining, or other data extraction;
• you may not access or use the Website for any interference, disruption, or other illegal or unauthorized purposes, such as interference with the operations of the Website or interference with access to the Website, such as through viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, or other such applications;
• you may not reverse engineer, decompile or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Website or any part thereof, unless the code is open source code; and
• you may not delete, obscure, or in any manner alter any warning, notice (including but not limited to any copyright or other proprietary rights notice), or link that appears in the Website.

Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments

Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments further agree to not exclude from participation in, deny the benefits to, or discriminate against any Applicant on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, ethnic group identification, age, mental disability, physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, or sexual orientation or for any reason prohibited by federal, state or applicable local law.  The Indemnity Section of these Terms of Use applies to any allegation of or actual discrimination to the Professional Partner or Local Government’s use of the Website to select, waitlist or reject an Applicant for a Listing.  

Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall use the Website in conformance with the Doorway Partners Manual and shall comply with the following restrictions on the use of Applicant PII:

• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall download Applicant data in the timeframe set forth in the Doorway Partners Manual.  Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments specifically acknowledge that the Agencies maintain applications for a limited period as specified in the Privacy Policy, and failure to download the applications in a timely manner may result in having to republish a Listing and solicit applications again.  
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall protect all Applicant PII made available or independently obtained in connection with a Listing or use of this Website from unauthorized use and disclosure. This includes, but is not limited to, the secure transport, transmission and storage of Applicant’s PII used or acquired in the use of this Website.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall properly secure all Applicant PII at all times on any computer systems (hardware and software applications), third party hosting or cloud services, or electronic media.  Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall not store Applicant PII on unencrypted portable media including, but not limited to, laptops, thumb drives, disks and so forth.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall comply with the information handling and confidentiality requirements outlined in the California Information Practices Act (Civil Code sections 1798 et.seq.) with respect to Applicant PII as may be applicable.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments warrant and certify that in the use of PII obtained through the Website, they shall comply with all applicable statutes, rules, regulations and orders of the United States, the State of California and applicable local regulations relating to the handling and confidentiality of Applicant PII and that they shall indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the Agencies against any loss, cost, damage or liability by reason of their violation of this provision.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall not, except as authorized or required by its duties by law, reveal or divulge to any person or entity any Applicant PII that becomes known to it through the use of the Website.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall keep all Applicant PII completely secret and shall not use or attempt to use any such information in any manner that may injure or cause loss, either directly or indirectly, to the Agencies.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall not use or process Applicant PII for any purpose other than as set forth in these Terms of Use.
• If requested by one of the Agencies, Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall execute an information security and confidentiality agreement provided by an Agency and attest that its employees, representatives, agents, subconsultants and subcontractors involved in the performance of this Agreement shall be bound by terms of a confidentiality agreement.
• Property Owners and Operators and Local Governments shall immediately notify the Agencies upon discovery that there may have been a breach in security which has or may have resulted in unauthorized access to Applicant PII obtained through the Website.  For purposes of this section, immediately is defined as within seventy-two hours of discovery. The contact for such notification is as follows: Privacy Officer, privacyofficer@bayareametro.gov, (415) 778-6700.

Failure to comply with these Restriction on Use, any other Term of Use, the Privacy Policy, payment terms, or applicable regulatory agreement or law, as determined by the Agencies, may result in immediate termination of your use of the Website, with or without notice.

Your Communications to Us

The Website may provide you with the ability to contact us, such as through e-mail addresses, contact forms, or other means. If you communicate with us regarding any ideas, input, feedback, or anything of similar nature, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free license to use any such ideas, input, feedback, or anything of similar nature, subject to the Privacy Policy.

Indemnity

YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY, DEFEND AND HOLD HARMLESS THE AGENCIES AND THEIR COMMISSIONERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, LIABILITIES, DAMAGES, LOSSES, COSTS AND EXPENSES (INCLUDING REASONABLE ATTORNEY’S FEES) RESULTING OR ARISING FROM OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR BREACH OF ANY PROVISION OF THESE TERMS OF USE OR YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE. 

FOR AN APPLICANT, “USE OF THE WEBSITE” IN THIS SECTION INCLUDES BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, INPUTTING INFORMATION INTO AN APPLICATION AND SUBMITTING EITHER A PAPER OR ONLINE APPLICATION.  

FOR A PROFESSIONAL PARTNER OR LOCAL GOVERNMENT, “USE OF THE WEBSITE” IN THIS SECTION INCLUDES, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, INPUTTING INFORMATION ABOUT A LISTING, UTILIZING ANY HOUSING PREFERENCE TO INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF AN APPLICANT BEING SELECTED FOR A FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVERTISED IN A LISTING, DOWNLOADING OR ACCESSING AN APPLICATION, UTILIZING LOTTERY RESULTS FOR A LISTING, USING THE WEBSITE AS CONTEMPLATED IN THE DOORWAY PARTNERS MANUAL OR OTHERWISE USING THE WEBSITE.  

Additional Limitations of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, NEITHER THE AGENCIES, THEIR COMMISSIONERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, NOR AGENTS WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, OR GOODWILL) RESULTING OR RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR ACCESS OR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE) THE WEBSITE—WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT/NEGLIGENCE, OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY—EVEN IF THE AGENCIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

THE LAWS OF SOME JURISDICTIONS MAY NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY SET FORTH ABOVE, SO THIS LIMITATION OF LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IF ANY PART OF THIS LIMITATION ON LIABILITY IS FOUND TO BE INVALID OR UNENFORCEABLE FOR ANY REASON, THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF THE AGENCIES AND THEIR COMMISSIONERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS UNDER SUCH CIRCUMSTANCES FOR LIABILITIES THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIMITED SHALL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100).

Parental Control

Parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filtering services) are commercially available to assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to minors.      47 U.S.C.S.§ 230(d) requires us to tell you that you may obtain these types of tools from the commercial providers, such as Qustodio, Norton Family, Circle Home Plus, and Mobicip.  Information identifying current providers of such protections may also be available in lists or reviews in information technology publications such as PC Magazine or through consulting with an information technology professional.

The Agencies do not sponsor nor endorse and are not affiliated with any of these providers.

Disclaimer, No Endorsement of Third Party Websites, Products, or Services

Please note that the information provided on this Website regarding Listings and Applicants is for general informational purposes only. The Agencies do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, reliability, suitability, or availability of any of the information provided. 

THE AGENCIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AGENCIES BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS WEBSITE OR ANY OF THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN, EVEN IF THE AGENCIES HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The Agencies do not endorse the Listings or the Applicants on this Website and are not responsible for any transactions that may enter into as a result of use of this Website. It is your responsibility to conduct due diligence and to make an informed decision before entering into any rental agreement or lease.

Further, the Website may contain or feature references (including without limitation hypertext or other links to other websites or applications) that are not owned, operated, controlled or reviewed by the Agencies. References may include a link to a third-party website to apply for a Listing if the Professional Partner has elected to only provide notice of the Listing through the Website and not the ability to submit an application for the Listing. These references and links are provided solely as a courtesy and convenience to you and do not constitute sponsorship, endorsement, or recommendation by the Agencies or other affiliation with the Agencies.  THE AGENCIES SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FROM DAMAGES THAT MAY RESULT FROM THE ACCESSING OR USE OF ANY THIRD-PARTY WEBSITES OR THIRD-PARTY SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS.

Changes to Terms of Use

If there is a change to these Terms of Use, the Agencies will post the new Terms of Use on the Website. By continuing to access or otherwise use the Website, you agree to be legally bound by any such new Terms of Use.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Use shall be interpreted under and governed by the laws of the State of California, without reference to its choice-of-law provisions. All claims arising or relating in any way to these Terms of Use must be brought solely in the City and County of San Francisco, California; and with respect to any such claims, you waive any objection regarding this location being an inconvenient forum, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in the State of California.

Miscellaneous

These Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to matters set forth in these Terms of Use and supersede any prior or contemporaneous understanding or agreement; and there are no third-party beneficiaries to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use will bind and inure to the benefit of any assignees or successors in interest of or to you or us. Section and paragraph headings in these Terms of Use are used for convenience and reference only and in no way define, limit, extend or otherwise describe the scope or intent of these Terms of Use and may not affect the meaning or interpretation of these Terms of Use. If any provision of these Terms of Use is deemed invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be reformed and construed consistently with applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intentions of these Terms of Use; and in any event, the remaining provisions of these Terms of Use will remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any of the provisions of these Terms of Use is a waiver of any other provision, whether or not similar, nor does any waiver constitute a continuing waiver.