Thanks to the many large-scale renter protection and support programs during the COVID-19 pandemic, a predicted “eviction tsunami” never materialized. But renters are facing new instability challenges as costs increase and pandemic-era protections and supports end. Housing counselors, who were a key part of the pandemic-era renter safety net, have continued to serve renters and have seen these challenges firsthand. To understand housing counselors’ work and renters’ needs in this postpandemic environment, we interviewed counselors working under the Housing Stability Counseling Program, a federal housing counseling grant program run by NeighborWorks America. This research is an early step in examining the impact of renter counseling, and additional study is needed to investigate the case for more permanent housing counseling support in stabilizing renters and understand the relationship between counseling, rental assistance, and other interventions.
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