Wow! I am sad to hear all these negative reviews. I have total respect for both ECHO Housing as well as the City of Union City. I am exceptionally pleased with the service I received from ECHO Housing and loved how quickly they took care of my housing problem. Let me explain, shall I? Two weeks ago, I lost hot water, and after several attempts of requesting my landlord to turn back on my hot water and them ignoring the issue, I didn't know whom to turn to so I began looking up numbers for the housing authority and came across a phone number in Union City. As a cry for help and guidance, I picked up the phone at 9 PM and left a message for the City of Union City, trust me, I was NOT expecting an answer so quickly, especially in COVID-19. Now, don't ask whom I left the message for because I honestly do not know. I was begging for guidance as I had never been through a slumlord issue before. The next day after my call to the City of Union City, I received a call from a lovely Angel named Sharisse that worked for ECHO Housing. I told Sharisse my issue and informed her that my landlord had refused to speak to me and wanted to pass communication through my neighbor, which was quick alarming to me. After a week of not having hot water, Sharisse understood my frustration and reassured me that she was there to assist me. Sharisse had an opportunity to speak to my landlord and, within 24 hours, I had hot water! Of course, in this crazy world we live in, I am afraid of retaliation. However, Sharisse reassured me that if my landlord gave me any problems or tried to harass me, that I can call her or her colleague, Jonathan, and they will assist me. Its a relief to know that there are still good people out there during these challenging times. I want to give a BIG THANK YOU to both the City of Union City who passed my call to ECHO Housing, and Shariesse for taking my complaint and giving me a call right away. I will be forever grateful for the service I received from here! read more

I called and finally got someone to talk with. She send me only resources but wait a minute you are one resource to help me. She said that but nothing was actually real. I have a problem with my landlord giving me 7-day correction of the unit then handed me rent increase starting August 1st. They still didn't help me then I called again left a voicemail someone told me that they will call me but I haven't heard from anybody after. Im suffering here and no government office can't help, the same thing as eviction defense they lack professionalism and they didn't know Castro Valley is Alameda County. I'm sorry to say America woke up, why do you hire people who are not loyal to the American people, why do you hire people who lack professionalism, why do you give your office low rating. No wonder a lot of place are closing. read more

Good luck you could need help on a Thursday and they only take calls on mondays at 9am and only accept the first 10 people. Your better off finding a tent to live in then get help from them. read more

Echo housing Is a joke ! The first time I applied,I turned in all my paperwork on time .CHERIS called me and said I was no aprove because my son didn't have a job.she said if ur son get a job re apply.So I did re apply I called every Monday from 9-930 am that the only time they answer to email u an application.I got it ! I turned it in the denied it because it was 3 days late wich was on the weekend.she called me to tell me to pick up my paperwork from the office.so I did.she said I had to call again o Monday to re apply .So I did I turn in my paperwork Again !They Denied it !!! They spend their own money!There are Wrong!!please do not waste your time with Echo housing and the people who work in the office are rude!!! read more

If you need Rental Assistance, good luck getting a hold of anyone at Echo housing. Apparently the Oakland office answers Rental assistance needs based phone calls ONLY on Mondays FROM 9 AM to 9:30 AM. And you're likely not going to get a hold of anyone, instead will receive their answering machine BUT you're not allowed to leave a message regarding rental assistance. It's very hard to get a hold of anyone at their office in general. And when you do, they are most likely not going to be able to help you. So good luck with that. Their funding must be very limited as they clearly can't actually help local people in dire need of rental assistance. read more

Rude unprofessional reception from the start. Mediation is a joke only a formality that Echo uses to get funded. They have no impact on decision making and everything that transpires is "hush hush". This is not a help to the people and should be sued for not explaining what they are as an agency. Sad. read more

Echo Non Profit I feel needs to embrace a Code of Conduct . My daughter is pregnant an only needed some help with housing assistance until she could have her baby due to being a high risk pregnancy an going threw financial problems has been shot down by these people. Being told no funding which is a crock of bull. They help who they want to help . Being they have an issue with me from about 2 years ago whenever , I told the truth about the emergency rental assistant money Echo was ordered to oversea 10.7 million granted to them. Don't take it out on my daughter because of your feelings towards me. MY DAUGHTER NEEDS HELP WITH HOUSING FOR HER AN HER BABY SHE IS CARRYING AT A HIGH RISK PREGNANCY !!! IT MONEY THAT YOU PEOPLE GET THREW A GRANT FOR GOD SAKE !! THIS IS AWFUL THAT ECHO OF HORRY COUNTY IS DENYING A PREGNANT WOMEN HELP AN WILLING TO ALLOW HER TO BE HOMELESS SHAME ON YALL, I am so blessed to have Myrtle Beach housing however, I cant allow her because of the rules that where already in place for me that, I cant have no one to live with me. I am asking the community an all that read this review , pray that my daughter will quickly receive the help with her housing crisis. Pray that Echo an its board members will start acting on the Code of Conduct rule for a non profit organization . Thanks to all for welcomed prayers. read more

very helpful and responsive by email. the receptionist by phone was rude but luckily the professional still got back to me by email so it wasn't a problem. i like that they can answer questions and send resources/cite the laws and their legal counsel (though as they say it's not official legal advice!) via email, unlike other housing nonprofits that make you sign up for 'workshops' to attend live at inconvenient times, when you just have 1 question that shouldn't take long to answer. read more

After looking at all the reviews, I must be the unlucky one. I just called both the 1800 number and the Antioch location and got nowhere. read more

September 3, 2021 To whom it may concern at Echo Fair Housing Hayward California. I wanted to let you know that your employee Ms. C. has be amazing. I was referred to Echo Housing regarding some issues with termites in my apartment. I had explained to Ms. C. what I was dealing with, and she took the time to give me a listening ear to vent. Ms. C. then explained what I could do next regarding my landlord not responding to me when I reached out to him. She has helped me get in contact with the right company to help get this matter resolved not there yet but moving in the right direction. I am greatly appreciative to her knowledge willingness to help me out. She was very polite and caring. I just wanted her to know that she has done an outstanding job. I truly appreciate her help with this matter with no judgement. I am happy to say I would gladly refer other people to this company because of her kindness and willing to listen and help resolve the matter to the best of her ability. She goes above and beyond to make sure your issues are taking care of. Ms. C. is the best in my book. Thank you Echo Housing for the landlord help read more

Very poor experience. My 24-48 call back was about 8 days late. The representative I spoke to was less than helpful. She kept getting irritated with the fact that my phone kept breaking up. The call was very choppy but I haven't had an issue with poor service or a difficult connection with any phone conversation so this was new to me. I even gave her another mobile number to call and it was the same thing. I assumed it was her end but she was adamant that it had to be my line. She ended up tell me that she couldn't continue the call and she would call back at 2pm. I did not receive a call back at all, on either number. Just a very poor experience with an already difficult situation that I had reached out about. I literally got no assistance, I didn't even get the chance to explain what I was reaching out for. I wish I got the girls name, this is a reflection on the experience I had with her as she represents this company. read more

I credit Echo Housing, especially Mia, with us not having been illegally evicted in April 2018. Our landlord of 7 years lost the house in foreclosure and the company that bought it refused to honor our lease. They sent county sheriff's (3 w/ guns) to evict us at 8 am. I got on the phone to Mia at Hayward Echo Housing and she told me what to say to "claim right of possession" which gave us the time to fight back. It was a huge relief. We had nothing packed and would have lost all we owned if not that advice. We fought them in court and won. We get to finish our lease in the house. read more

I am currently going thru a tenant and landlord issue, dealing with a mold problem and my landlord wanting to evict me. I got the number from the city of San Leandro website, I called and spoke with a receptionist named Tanya at the Hayward office. I was told I would get a call back from a counselor within 48 hours, never got a call. I called again after 4 days and left a message. Still have not received a call. My situation is very time sensitive, and I feel my resources are very limited. And if a resource is listed on a official city website you'd think it would be a useful resource. VERY DISAPPOINTED! I still feel lost in my situation. I'll continue my search else where. Thanks city of San Leandro ... NOT read more

I greatly appreciated the patience and support Mia provided me (Oakland office)! I'm going through so much struggle with the landlord/management but she guided me through best advice and legal stances I can take as a tenant. Thank you! read more

I called ECHO housing and was pleased to get a live person. She took my info and advised me that someone will get back to me within 24 hours and sure enough someone contacted me within that time frame. I believe Shanice is the person who called me back and she was very friendly, personable and honest about the challenge that I was facing. She was also very hopeful that things would work out for me and I appreciated her words of encouragement! Thank you all at ECHO for the work that you all do! read more

After my previous landlord violated my rights as a tenant several ways back in November 2019, I received excellent counseling from Cherisse from the Hayward, CA office. Cherisse was very knowledgeable about my rights, and provided excellent information in both an empathetic and professional manner. I am very appreciative of her assistance to help fully understand my rights. At the end of the telephone conversation, she invited me to contact her again if I needed further information or had questions. read more

I sued a landlord & won mia showed up with me for court which was cool. After court she seem a lil irritated that i didnt ask the courts for more $ i was new to suing people so i just went with the flow. After the judgement dropped Mia was only concerned about me leaving a good review on yelp for her boss to see. I tryed calling Mia after court with questions my calls were never answered or returned. I was just like wow thats why im back giving a second review. read more

I want to express my appreciation for Echo Fair Housing and their services. A few years ago they ( I worked with Marvel at the time who was great) they walked me through a very difficult situation which was thankfully positively resolved. I just called them about another issue and again they were very thoughtful and considerate. read more

I've called ECHO Housing on a few occasions over the years and have received useful information. The receptionist who answers the phone is always pleasant. I've spoken to fair housing counselor, Angie Watson-Hajjem, a few times about different fair housing questions, and have found her to be very knowledgeable, and she gave me other fair housing resources. It's great to have agencies such as ECHO to turn to for assistance during these difficult times with housing. read more

Update on housing situation I'm still being harassed even though I've had my therapist write up a long seven-page letter explaining to the landlords that what they are doing is detrimental to me and my mental health thanks echo housing read more