Housing Instability for Low-Income Renters: Evictions, Arrears, and Policy Solutions

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

The United States continues to face an acute shortage of affordable housing. Each year, nearly 2.7 million households receive an eviction filing, and the share of households who are severely rent-burdened continues to climb. This panel brings together four different papers that together document the prevalence of housing instability (even in spite of existing government assistance), and evaluate different policy solutions that can help to prevent evictions for low-income households.

The first paper measures eviction filing rates for households in HUD-subsidized housing, including tenant-based vouchers, project-based vouchers, and public housing. By comparing eviction filing rates across subsidized and unsubsidized tenants and documenting the prevalence of the threat of eviction throughout the course of HUD program participation, this paper shows that despite government subsidies, many low-income households still face high levels of housing insecurity.

The second paper leverages novel rent roll data to study how late fees affect rental payments, arrears, and displacement across a sample of buildings that include Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) properties, project-based vouchers, and unsubsidized tenants. The author finds that while late fees are effective at reducing late or non-payment of rent, they also reduce the likelihood of recovery among those who do fall behind, raising concerns about their use and level of regulation.

The final two papers both use experiments to evaluate two different measures that can prevent evictions. The first of these two papers studies “housing problem solving”, an intervention that is designed to help individuals in a housing crisis identify potential solutions. The authors use a randomized controlled trial to evaluate if this type of intervention can be effective in reducing evictions, given high levels of severe rent burden and constrained household resources. The final paper uses both a randomized experiment and a quasi-experimental research design to study whether tenants with an eviction filing can benefit from appearing in court. Using quasi-experimental variation in court appearance timing and a randomized experiment that provides tenants with information on their court date via text message, the author finds that appearing in court can substantially reduce the probability of the tenant receiving a formal eviction.

Together, these four papers document the housing insecurity that low-income households continue to face, identify areas where increased or improved regulations may help, and evaluate how policies, at different costs and intensisites, can mitigate severe outcomes like eviction.

Policy Area

• Housing, Community Development, and Urban Policy

Chair

• Stephanie Casey Pierce, University of Tennessee (Knoxville)

Discussants

• David C Phillips, University of Notre Dame

• Gary Dean Painter, University of Cincinnati

Organizer

• Sarah Strochak, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Individual Presentations

• Measuring eviction risk for HUD-subsidized households - Presenting Author: Sarah Strochak, University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Late Fees and Household Rental Debt - Presenting Author: Kristen Nicole Tauber, New York University

• Is Housing Problem Solving Enough? - Presenting Author: Ashley E Orr, The Ohio State University

• The Causal Effects of Court Appearance on Eviction Outcomes - Presenting Author: Kathy Bi, Princeton University