The Housing Directory is a website that lists rental properties, agencies, private landlords, senior living, and support services in and around Charlottesville. It replaces the old Excel spreadsheet.
Public site: https://haven-housing-directory.val.run
Anyone can browse and search the directory without logging in. Staff sign in to add, edit, and manage listings, and to see a few extra features.
Visitors to the site can:
- Search by name, phone number, contact, or notes
- Filter by housing type (rental agency, private landlord, etc.)
- Filter by area (Charlottesville, Albemarle, Louisa, Greene, Nelson, Fluvanna)
- Click through to property websites
- Download nothing — the "Export to Excel" button only appears for staff
Hidden records: If a listing is flagged as "unsuitable" by staff (see below), it does not appear on the public site at all. Only logged-in staff can see it.
- Click staff sign in at the top right of the page.
- Enter your email and password.
- Once signed in, you'll see extra buttons and staff-only information on each listing (staff notes, validation dates, etc.).
Forgot your password? Click "Forgot password?" and enter your email. A reset link will be sent to you (valid for 1 hour).
Roles: There are three levels.
| Role | Can do |
|---|---|
| Viewer | See everything, including flagged listings, and view site activity |
| Editor | Everything above, plus add/edit/delete listings and flag records |
| Admin | Everything above, plus create accounts and manage staff users |
Ask an admin if you need a different role.
- Sign in and click + Add listing.
- Fill in what you know — name, phone, website, contact, notes, and location (check all areas that apply, or none).
- Click Save.
- Find the listing in the table and click edit.
- Make your changes and click Save.
Click delete next to the listing and confirm. Deleted listings are gone for good, so flagging as unsuitable (below) is usually the safer option if you just want it hidden.
If a landlord or property should no longer be shown to the public (wrong info, unresponsive, inappropriate, etc.):
- Click flag next to the listing.
- Enter a note explaining why — this is required.
- Save.
The listing immediately disappears from the public site, but staff can still see it (with your note) while signed in. To un-hide a listing later, edit it and clear the Unsuitable notes field.
You can also flag a record by editing it directly and typing into the Unsuitable notes field.
Each listing tracks when it was last verified and by whom.
- Click verify next to a listing with a website — the system checks that the site is reachable and that the phone number appears on it, then stamps the date automatically.
- For listings without a website, "verify" asks you to confirm you checked it manually, then stamps today's date.
- If the check fails, it will tell you why (site down, phone not found) and offer to open the website so you can look yourself.
Aim to re-verify listings periodically so the directory stays accurate.
Click 📊 Site activity (visible once signed in) to see how much the site is being used:
- Views today, in the last 7 days, last 30 days, and all time
- A day-by-day breakdown for the past month, split into public views vs. staff views
A "view" is counted each time the directory page is loaded. Staff views are counted separately, so you can tell general public interest apart from staff maintenance visits.
Signed-in staff can click Export to Excel to download the full directory (including staff notes and unsuitable flags) as a CSV file that opens in Excel. This includes hidden/flagged records.
A listing I flagged still shows up for me — is that right? Yes. Flagged listings are only hidden from the public. Sign out (or check in a private/incognito window) to confirm what the public sees.
Can the public see staff notes or unsuitable notes? No. Those fields are only sent to logged-in staff, and they never appear in search results on the public site.
I made a mistake in an edit — can it be undone? Contact the site administrator; past versions of listings are kept in the system and can be restored.
Questions or account requests? Contact your directory administrator.