Studying the Effects of Rental Assistance on Housing Stability, Quality, Autonomy, and Affordability
May 17, 2022
May 17, 2022
Article: The Effects of Rental Assistance on Housing Stability, Quality, Autonomy, and Affordability
Authors: Rebecca Schapiro, Kim Blankenship, Alana Rosenberg, and Dayna Keene
Published Online: 8 January 2021
DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2020.1846067
Tags: affordability, rental assistance, housing insecurity, housing quality, renters.
Authors: Rebecca Schapiro, Kim Blankenship, Alana Rosenberg, and Dayna Keene
Published Online: 8 January 2021
DOI: 10.1080/10511482.2020.1846067
Tags: affordability, rental assistance, housing insecurity, housing quality, renters.
Expanding rental assistance studies beyond single outcomes
Federal rental assistance is an important source of affordable housing for low-income households. By making housing affordable, rental assistance may allow households to access safer and better-quality housing, prevent evictions and forced moves, prevent doubling up and crowding, and provide individuals with more control over their home environment. These and other positive effects suggest that the expansion of rental assistance could benefit many low-income Americans particularly as supply constraints and lack of funding mean that fewer than one in four eligible households receive this assistance, and that waiting lists for assistance average about two years long.[1] However, more research is needed to examine the association between rental assistance receipt and various dimensions of housing access, especially those associated with health and well-being.
In “The Effects of Rental Assistance on Housing Stability, Quality, Autonomy, and Affordability,” Rebecca Schapiro, Kim Blankenship, Alana Rosenberg, and Danya Keene examine the relationship between rental assistance and four such dimensions of housing access.[2] In doing so, they expand our understanding of the interplay between these dimensions of housing and offer insights into the multiplicity of benefits afforded to low-income adults through the provision of rental assistance.
The JustHouHS Study
The study draws on data from the Justice Housing and Health Study (JustHouHS) a longitudinal cohort study of 400 low-income adults in New Haven, Connecticut, designed to explore the intersection of housing, mass incarceration, and health. Of the 400 participants at baseline, 81 received rental assistance, 100 were waitlisted, and 219 were neither rent assisted nor on a wait list. The study relied on data from four survey waves conducted between October 2017 and October 2019 that cumulatively included 1,337 observations. The authors test the hypothesis that individuals on the waitlist for rental assistance will report less housing stability, lower housing quality, less autonomy related to housing, and greater challenges with housing affordability compared with those receiving assistance.
The authors first compared the characteristics of rent-assisted, waitlisted, and neither rent-assisted nor waitlisted groups using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for statistical significance across groups. They then used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to model the predictors related to their four chosen outcomes.
The authors undertook the analyses in three stages: first, they examined outcome variables as a function of waitlist status. They then added basic demographic factors and finally included additional factors that may impact access to rental assistance.
Findings
The authors find that those receiving rental assistance had lower odds of reporting housing instability, low-quality housing, lack of autonomy related to housing, and some measures of housing unaffordability compared with those on waiting lists and those who were neither receiving housing nor on waiting lists. Furthermore, the large and highly significant positive effects remained after adjusting for demographic variables and factors that can impact access to rental assistance, such as recent employment, disability, drug use, felony conviction, and recent incarceration.
It is also worth underlining the authors’ finding that those who were not on a waitlist for rental assistance were actually worse off, in terms of their housing outcomes, than those who applied for and received it. This may seem surprising if we assume that those who do not apply for rental assistance do not need it. But in fact, up to 40% of low-income individuals in the United States are severely rent burdened and only a tiny minority of them receive rental assistance.[3] The scarcity of assistance, along with application and eligibility barriers, help explain this reality.[4]
Implications
These findings serve to counter the narrative that rent-assisted housing is low quality and negatively impacts recipients.[5] Although it is true that people receiving rental assistance do not always have access to the highest-quality housing,[6] the authors found that people receiving assistance had significantly better outcomes across nearly all measures compared with those on the wait list for assistance and those not receiving assistance. These findings support a growing body of research that finds health benefits of HUD assisted housing for adults and children.[7]
HUD-funded rental assistance, in the form of project-based and tenant-based subsidies, is an important source of affordable housing for this group. Additional research is still needed to address possible cohort differences between those who received rental assistance in in an era when assistance was more available and those who are currently waiting for it as well as to address the possibility of reverse causality. But evidence from this study indicates that the expansion of rental assistance could benefit many low-income Americans, perhaps reducing poor health outcomes, health inequities, and even healthcare spending.
Federal rental assistance is an important source of affordable housing for low-income households. By making housing affordable, rental assistance may allow households to access safer and better-quality housing, prevent evictions and forced moves, prevent doubling up and crowding, and provide individuals with more control over their home environment. These and other positive effects suggest that the expansion of rental assistance could benefit many low-income Americans particularly as supply constraints and lack of funding mean that fewer than one in four eligible households receive this assistance, and that waiting lists for assistance average about two years long.[1] However, more research is needed to examine the association between rental assistance receipt and various dimensions of housing access, especially those associated with health and well-being.
In “The Effects of Rental Assistance on Housing Stability, Quality, Autonomy, and Affordability,” Rebecca Schapiro, Kim Blankenship, Alana Rosenberg, and Danya Keene examine the relationship between rental assistance and four such dimensions of housing access.[2] In doing so, they expand our understanding of the interplay between these dimensions of housing and offer insights into the multiplicity of benefits afforded to low-income adults through the provision of rental assistance.
The JustHouHS Study
The study draws on data from the Justice Housing and Health Study (JustHouHS) a longitudinal cohort study of 400 low-income adults in New Haven, Connecticut, designed to explore the intersection of housing, mass incarceration, and health. Of the 400 participants at baseline, 81 received rental assistance, 100 were waitlisted, and 219 were neither rent assisted nor on a wait list. The study relied on data from four survey waves conducted between October 2017 and October 2019 that cumulatively included 1,337 observations. The authors test the hypothesis that individuals on the waitlist for rental assistance will report less housing stability, lower housing quality, less autonomy related to housing, and greater challenges with housing affordability compared with those receiving assistance.
The authors first compared the characteristics of rent-assisted, waitlisted, and neither rent-assisted nor waitlisted groups using analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for statistical significance across groups. They then used generalized estimating equations (GEE) to model the predictors related to their four chosen outcomes.
The authors undertook the analyses in three stages: first, they examined outcome variables as a function of waitlist status. They then added basic demographic factors and finally included additional factors that may impact access to rental assistance.
Findings
The authors find that those receiving rental assistance had lower odds of reporting housing instability, low-quality housing, lack of autonomy related to housing, and some measures of housing unaffordability compared with those on waiting lists and those who were neither receiving housing nor on waiting lists. Furthermore, the large and highly significant positive effects remained after adjusting for demographic variables and factors that can impact access to rental assistance, such as recent employment, disability, drug use, felony conviction, and recent incarceration.
It is also worth underlining the authors’ finding that those who were not on a waitlist for rental assistance were actually worse off, in terms of their housing outcomes, than those who applied for and received it. This may seem surprising if we assume that those who do not apply for rental assistance do not need it. But in fact, up to 40% of low-income individuals in the United States are severely rent burdened and only a tiny minority of them receive rental assistance.[3] The scarcity of assistance, along with application and eligibility barriers, help explain this reality.[4]
Implications
These findings serve to counter the narrative that rent-assisted housing is low quality and negatively impacts recipients.[5] Although it is true that people receiving rental assistance do not always have access to the highest-quality housing,[6] the authors found that people receiving assistance had significantly better outcomes across nearly all measures compared with those on the wait list for assistance and those not receiving assistance. These findings support a growing body of research that finds health benefits of HUD assisted housing for adults and children.[7]
HUD-funded rental assistance, in the form of project-based and tenant-based subsidies, is an important source of affordable housing for this group. Additional research is still needed to address possible cohort differences between those who received rental assistance in in an era when assistance was more available and those who are currently waiting for it as well as to address the possibility of reverse causality. But evidence from this study indicates that the expansion of rental assistance could benefit many low-income Americans, perhaps reducing poor health outcomes, health inequities, and even healthcare spending.
About the authors:
Rebecca Schapiro, MPH, is a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Kim Blankenship, PhD, is Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Research at American University.
Alana Rosenberg, MPH, is Project Manager of the Justice, Housing and Health Study at the Yale School of Public Health.
Danya Keene, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Social Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health.
Rebecca Schapiro, MPH, is a medical student at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine.
Kim Blankenship, PhD, is Professor of Sociology and Associate Dean of Research at American University.
Alana Rosenberg, MPH, is Project Manager of the Justice, Housing and Health Study at the Yale School of Public Health.
Danya Keene, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Social Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health.
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[1] Collinson, R., Ellen, I. G., & Ludwig, J. (2015, September). “Low-income housing policy.” Economics of Means-Tested Transfer Programs in the United States, 2, pp. 59–126.; Fischer, W., & Sard, B. (2017). Chart book: Federal housing spending is poorly matched to need. Washington, DC: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
[2] Keene, D. E., Henry, M., Gormley, C., & Ndumele, C. (2018) “‘Then I found housing and everything change’: Transitions to rent-assisted housing and diabetes self-management.” Cityscape, 202(2), pp. 107-118.; Swope, C. B., & Hernández, D. (2019). “Housing as a determinant of health equity: A conceptual model.” Social Science & Medicine, 243, 112571.
[3] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (May 8, 2019). Federal rental assistance fact sheets. Retrieved from https://www. cbpp.org/research/housing/federal-rental-assistance-fact-sheets.
[4] Geller, A., & Franklin, A. W. (2014). “Paternal incarceration and the housing security of urban mothers.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), pp. 411–427; Quinn, K., Dickson-Gomez, J., McAuliffe, T., & Owczarzak, J. (2014). “Exploring multiple levels of access to rental subsidies and supportive housing.” Housing Policy Debate, 24(2), pp. 467–484.
[5] Semuels, A. (2015). “America’s shame: How U.S. housing policy is failing the country’s poor.” The Atlantic, June 24. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/section-8-is-failing/396650/.
[6] Ellen, I. G. (2018). “What do we know about housing choice vouchers?” Regional Science and Urban Economics, Special Issue on Housing Affordability, 80 (January), 103380.
[7] Slopen, N., Fenelon, A., Newman, S., & Boudreaux, M. (2018). Housing assistance and child health: a systematic review. Pediatrics, 141(6); Fenelon, A. (2021). Does Public Housing Increase the Risk of Child Health Problems? Evidence From Linked Survey-Administrative Data. Housing Policy Debate, 1-15; Fenelon, A., Mayne, P., Simon, A. E., Rossen, L. M., Helms, V., Lloyd, P., ... & Steffen, B. L. (2017). Housing assistance programs and adult health in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 107(4), 571-578.
[2] Keene, D. E., Henry, M., Gormley, C., & Ndumele, C. (2018) “‘Then I found housing and everything change’: Transitions to rent-assisted housing and diabetes self-management.” Cityscape, 202(2), pp. 107-118.; Swope, C. B., & Hernández, D. (2019). “Housing as a determinant of health equity: A conceptual model.” Social Science & Medicine, 243, 112571.
[3] Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. (May 8, 2019). Federal rental assistance fact sheets. Retrieved from https://www. cbpp.org/research/housing/federal-rental-assistance-fact-sheets.
[4] Geller, A., & Franklin, A. W. (2014). “Paternal incarceration and the housing security of urban mothers.” Journal of Marriage and Family, 76(2), pp. 411–427; Quinn, K., Dickson-Gomez, J., McAuliffe, T., & Owczarzak, J. (2014). “Exploring multiple levels of access to rental subsidies and supportive housing.” Housing Policy Debate, 24(2), pp. 467–484.
[5] Semuels, A. (2015). “America’s shame: How U.S. housing policy is failing the country’s poor.” The Atlantic, June 24. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/section-8-is-failing/396650/.
[6] Ellen, I. G. (2018). “What do we know about housing choice vouchers?” Regional Science and Urban Economics, Special Issue on Housing Affordability, 80 (January), 103380.
[7] Slopen, N., Fenelon, A., Newman, S., & Boudreaux, M. (2018). Housing assistance and child health: a systematic review. Pediatrics, 141(6); Fenelon, A. (2021). Does Public Housing Increase the Risk of Child Health Problems? Evidence From Linked Survey-Administrative Data. Housing Policy Debate, 1-15; Fenelon, A., Mayne, P., Simon, A. E., Rossen, L. M., Helms, V., Lloyd, P., ... & Steffen, B. L. (2017). Housing assistance programs and adult health in the United States. American Journal of Public Health, 107(4), 571-578.