The growing housing affordability crisis has left many renters struggling to pay rent and facing the risk of being evicted from their homes. Having an eviction on record makes it significantly harder for families to secure future housing, which in turn prolongs the health and economic impacts of their instability. The COVID-19 pandemic made these challenges even worse as already-cost-burdened renters faced income loss and other economic hardships, pushing many to the brink of eviction.

Urban Institute experts are quantifying the risks and impacts of eviction across the country and evaluating the impacts of new programs designed to keep families stably housed.

Projects

• The Renters and Rental Market Crisis Working Group
• Housing Crisis Research Collaborative
• Building Racial Equity into Emergency Rental Assistance Programs

Publications

Identifying who is facing the effects of eviction

• With Limited State and Local Protections, the End of the Federal Eviction Moratorium Puts Millions of Renters at Risk
• Perceptions of Eviction Likelihood among Renters of Color
• Where to Prioritize Emergency Rental Assistance to Keep Renters in their Homes
• The Race to Save Millions from Eviction
• The Looming Eviction Cliff
• Averting an Eviction Crisis
• The End of the National Eviction Moratorium Will Be Costly for Everyone
• Evictions Are on Pause, but Many Renters Still Can’t Pay

Understanding how to stop eviction and its impacts

• State and Local Antidiscrimination Laws Could Help Renters Access Emergency Rental Assistance and Keep Their Homes
• Eviction Prevention and Diversion Programs: Early Lessons from the Pandemic
• Four Ways to Keep Renters from Falling Off the Eviction Cliff
• Breaking the Link between Hardship and Eviction
• Crisis Coordination and Eviction Prevention
• Preventing Eviction Filings: Piloting a Pre-filing Eviction-Prevention Clinic
• Five Strategies to Address America’s Eviction Crisis
• How National Data Can Help Tackle the Eviction Crisis
• Four Lessons from Minnesota Can Inform the Eviction Crisis Debate
• A Head Start for Eviction Prevention
• How States Can Use TANF to Fund Rental Assistance and Prevent Evictions
• The Fair Housing Act Is Critical to Ensuring Evictions Aren’t Driven by Discrimination

Learning about landlord and renter behavior

• Tracking Rent Payments to Mom-and-Pop Landlords
• As Renter Protections End, Emergency Rental Assistance Is Critical. Why Haven’t More Landlords and Tenants Applied for It?
• Renters Living in Units Owned by Mom-and-Pop Landlords Are Struggling to Pay Rent More Than Those Living in Large Multifamily Buildings
• The Pandemic Is Making It Difficult for Mom-and-Pop Landlords to Maintain Their Properties
• Housing Vouchers Have Helped Tenants and Landlords Weather the Pandemic
• Landlords and Tenants Need More Information on Rental Assistance and Eviction Moratorium Policies
• Many People Are Behind on Rent. How Much Do They Owe?
• Mounting Pressures on Mom-and-Pop Landlords Could Spell Trouble for the Affordable Rental Market
• Black and Hispanic Landlords Are Facing Great Financial Struggles because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. They Also Support Their Tenants at Higher Rates.
• Getting Landlords and Tenants to Talk
• Evictions Are More Than a Landlord-Tenant Issue

Urban Institute experts who work in this area

Mary Cunningham
Monique King-Viehland
Laurie Goodman
Solomon Greene
Kate Reynolds
Samantha Batko
Mark Treskon
Jung Hyun Choi
Abby Boshart
Daniel Pang
Fay Walker
Eleanor Noble
Jessica Perez