Of the nearly four million people across the country that face eviction each year, Black households and families with children are affected disproportionately. Eviction can have long-lasting adverse impacts on children’s development, including their mental health, physical health, and academic performance. While low-income renters can access a range of governmental housing stabilization services, barriers like learning costs, compliance costs, and psychological costs prevent take-up. In partnership with the Boston Office of Housing Stability, this study will randomly assign and evaluate a light-touch outreach intervention as a strategy to connect low-income renters who are imminently facing eviction to housing stabilization resources. The study will include all Boston renters who receive a “Notice to Quit” (NTQ) or an eviction filing over at least a 12-month period. Renters who receive an NTQ will receive one of two different mail-based outreach messages, with staggered timing to generate a treatment and comparison group. Renters who receive an eviction filing will be assigned to one of three conditions: a control group that does not receive outreach or one of two mail-based outreach conditions with different messages. Understanding whether and for whom this approach works will help inform program design in Boston, as well as broader strategies for reaching low-income families who could benefit from housing stabilization services.
Can a timely and targeted informational outreach intervention increase uptake in the use of housing stabilization services by low-income families and reduce evictions?
