Definition
The Housing Move-In Date (HMID) is used to document the date that a household moves into permanent housing. Thsi date differentiates households that have moved into permanent housing from households that are experiencing literal homelessness (in Emergency Shelter, Transitional Housing, or an unsheltered location). The HMID is to be entered during this event regardless of funding source and/or whether the project is providing rental assistance.
A client having a Housing Move-In Date means that the client:
- Has a lease arrangement that was made,
- The client has a key or entry ability into the unit, and
- The client will begin to physically sleep in the unit.
The HMID data element is critical to the Housing Inventory Count, Point in Time Count, and for the following project types when assessing program performance:
- Rapid Re-Housing
- Permanent Supportive Housing
- Other Permanent Housing (dedicated to those experiencing homelessness)
- Other (Pay for Success only)
- Services Only (VA: GPD Case Manangement/Housing Retention only)
HMIDs in CMIS
The Housing Move-In Date must match the date that the client moved into permanent housing and physically slept at this permanent location.
An HMID must be a date on or between the "Project Start Date" and "Project End Date" to be pulled in reporting through CMIS. HMIDs entered outside of the project date range will not count the client as housed through that enrollment.
| Project
Start Date |
Housing Move-In
Date |
Project End Date |
What is
happening? |
| 7/1/2025 |
7/19/2025 |
|
This
would count as an accurate HMID. |
| 6/1/2025 |
5/15/2025 |
2/1/2026 |
This
would not count as an accurate HMID - the HMID is before the Project Start
Date. |
| 1/1/2024 |
3/12/2025 |
4/16/2025 |
This
would count as an accurate HMID. |
2/13/2024 | 6/18/2025 | 9/20/2025 | This would count as an accurate HMID. |
| 3/17/2025 |
4/22/2026 |
4/20/2026 |
This
would not count as an accurate HMID - the HMID is after the Project Start
Date. |
| 10/26/2025 |
10/26/2025 |
|
This
would count as an accurate HMID. |
If the client moves into a permanent unit on the day that they were enrolled in a program (as in many cases of PSH and OPH), the Project Start Date and HMID will be the same.
If the client moves into permanent housing while in an emergency shelter or transitional housing program (with the same provider or a different provider), it is expected that the HMID will match the Project End Date of the emergency shelter or transitional housing stay. This is because the client would leave the residential program to sleep in their own housing.
Additionally, there can be only one HMID per enrollment. See the questions below for situations where someone may be housed multiple times with a provider.
Q: My client left their housing placement. What should I do?
If a client vacates a housing situation, staff should exit the client from the project with an accurate Project Exit Date and "Exit Destination" and create a second enrollment with a new Project Start Date for the client. This second enrollment should occur on the same or following day. The "Prior Living Situation" for the new enrollment must reflect the location where the client slept the night before the new enrollment. As you work with the client until a new unit is found, that new placement will be when a new HMID would be recorded in the second enrollment.
- If the client left the initial housing placement while the provider is still paying rental assistance, case management and outreach to the client should be used to connect with the client to try to re-place them in the initial unit.
- Exiting and re-entering the client into additional project entries would cease when the provider is no longer providing services to the client.
If the client moves directly from one unit to another unit, with no days of homelessness in between, it is not necessary to exit and re-enter them because their HMID would still reflect the day tha they entered permanent housing.
Q: We use multiple funding sources to house and stabilize clients through RRH. How do I reflect that in CMIS?
If a client is transferred into a different RRH, PSH, or OPH project having already moved into permanent housing, multiple RRH project enrollments is necessary. For the later enrollment(s), which occurs after the client is housed, the client's Project Start Date and HMID will be the same date, instead of reflecting the original move-in. This is because reports will not capture a HMID outside of the project enrollment date range, and the data element will distinguish the client as housed during enrollment.
Q: My client was housed, but then lost that housing. How do I reflect that in CMIS?
When a client is housed and a HMID is entered in CMIS, the HMID is not to be deleted during that enrollment. If you are no longer providing assistance/services to this client, the loss of housing is to be reflected in the "Exit Destination" when exiting the client from your project.
Q: I checked my PSH client into the Bed List in the Shelters Module, and they are not being counted as housed. What do I do?
Checking a client into a Bed List does not mean that the client would be counted as housed through a report. Remember: Emergency Shelters and Transitional Housing projects also use the bed lists on the Shelters Module.
A Housing Move-In Date must still be entered for the client during this enrollment. If the client was housed on the day that they were enrolled in that project, the HMID must be entered and should match the Project Start Date.
Q: I realize that I enrolled my RRH client with the wrong Entry Date. Will this be an issue?
If a client was entered into a RRH, PSH, or OPH project with the wrong Project Start Date and they were housed through this project, you can still edit their Project Start Date (and End Date) if you realized that they were entered/exited on the wrong date - but you will also want to check their Housing Move-In Date. If you shift their Entry and/or Exit Date and the HMID is now outside of that date range, it will no longer pull into reports as your project having housed that client.
Additional Links
- HUD Exchange: HMIS Data Standards
- HUD Exchange: Interactive HMIS Data Standards Tool (Housing Move-In Date page)