Housing, Systems & the First 90 Days: Housing is the #1 relocation failure point.

Housing, Systems & the First 90 Days: What Mobility Teams Overlook — And How to Fix It.”

The Myth: Housing as an afterthought - Housing is the #1 relocation failure point. Housing First!

Housing really is the hidden “make‑or‑break” of relocation

Housing, Systems & the First 90 Days: What Mobility Teams Overlook — And How to Fix It

Thesis: Even well‑designed mobility programs fail when housing and local systems are not stabilized in the first 90 days; treating housing as infrastructure (not a perk) dramatically improves retention, family wellbeing, and cost control.

1.The Failure Point - The “housing is solved” illusion

• Why mobility teams think housing is covered: lump‑sum, a list of brokers, a 30‑day temp stay, and a policy PDF.

• How this fails on the ground: tight markets, chronic shortages, and real‑estate bottlenecks make it hard for transferees to secure appropriate homes within policy limits, especially for families and newcomers.​

• Early warning signs: endless temporary housing extensions, policy exceptions, trailing families, and rising “reluctant to move” responses in internal surveys.

The Hierarchy of Belonging - Housing First!

2. Why housing is the #1 failure point

• For employees: not finding suitable housing quickly drives stress, impacts performance, and can push them to exit the assignment or the company altogether.​

• For families: school access, commute times, safety, and proximity to childcare and healthcare sit underneath every housing decision and often trigger “family refusal” or premature returns.​

• For employers: housing delays create cost overruns (extensions, exceptions, lost productivity) and erode ROI on international or inter‑provincial moves

3. The Systems Problem - The first 90 days as a systems problem

• Day 0–30: temp housing, administrative setup (SIN, banking, health coverage), and first neighbourhood orientation – this is where stress either spikes or stabilizes.​

• Day 31–60: lease search and negotiation, local regulations, utilities, schooling registration, and transport decisions all intersect; if unmanaged, transferees default to sub‑optimal locations or short‑term fixes.​

• Day 61–90: habits and commute patterns lock in; by this point, unresolved housing or family issues harden into disengagement and higher risk of assignment failure.

Designing a housing‑first mobility playbook

4. The Hidden Gaps - What most mobility teams overlook

• Treating housing as a one‑time transaction instead of an ecosystem that touches work, family, and community integration.​

• Underestimating local supply constraints, especially for family‑sized units, and assuming that “the market will provide” within policy budgets and timelines.​

• Gaps between policy and practice: employees do not fully understand benefits; HR lacks visibility into local realities; vendors work in silos (RMC, broker, DSP, temp housing provider).

5. The Mobility Playbook - Designing a housing‑first mobility playbook

• Pre‑decision stage: realistic housing brief for each lane (single, family, newcomer, executive), including price ranges, commute options, and timelines before the offer is accepted.​

• Integrated 90‑day roadmap: map housing milestones (viewings, applications, lease signing, move‑in) to parallel tasks (schooling, healthcare registration, transit onboarding) for each profile.​

• Policy calibration: align temp housing length, search support, and exception rules with real market data instead of legacy assumptions

Operational metrics: time‑to‑secure‑lease, number of temporary housing extensions, exception rate, and average housing cost vs. policy cap by location.​

6. C.N.A.P - Fixing the systems: concrete interventions

• Create a “housing control tower”: a single point of coordination linking mobility, local HR, RMC/DSP, and landlords or housing partners, with transparent dashboards of cases and milestones.​

• Bundle critical supports: tenancy education, lease negotiation support, school catchment guidance, and transit coaching delivered as a standard 90‑day package, not ad hoc extras.​

• Prioritize vulnerable and high‑risk moves: newcomers, families with school‑age children, and moves into severe shortage markets get proactive, hands‑on housing navigation.

C.N.A.P Immigration and Settlement Services Association empowers newcomers to thrive in Canada through equitable, bilingual, and community-led programs that promote stability, employment, and belonging. We connect individuals, families, and partners through practical supports — from housing and orientation to employment and wellbeing — ensuring every newcomer feels seen, supported, and capable of building a life of dignity and purpose.

7. Metrics that matter in the first 90 days

• Operational metrics: time‑to‑secure‑lease, number of temporary housing extensions, exception rate, and average housing cost vs. policy cap by location.​

• People metrics: newcomer satisfaction at 30/60/90 days, family adjustment scores, absenteeism, and early attrition or declined offers per location.​

• Strategic metrics: total cost of failed or curtailed assignments versus the incremental cost of robust housing and systems support