The Housing Crisis Research Collaborative seeks to engage researchers from groups, communities and geographic regions that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially researchers of color, who are not based at institutions currently represented among the core Collaborative research partners.
We are seeking researchers to conduct research on the following topics that have been identified and prioritized in consultation with our network partners and respond to current knowledge gaps faced by federal, state and local policymakers:
Learning from Crisis Response
Emergency Rental Assistance
Eviction Prevention and Diversion Programs
Emergency Housing Vouchers
Use of State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds for Housing
Shaping New or Expanded Federal Housing Investments:
Understanding how the provisions in the recent federal infrastructure package could affect rental housing markets
Expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program, including mobility services and landlord incentives
Expanding federal funding for affordable housing production and preservation, such as through changes to the national Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Housing Trust Fund, Community Development Block Grant Program, or HOME Investment Partnership
Designing and implementing the “Unlocking Possibilities” program or other federal efforts to increase housing supply by incentivizing land use and zoning reforms or reducing regulatory barriers
Hotels to Affordable Housing: Strategies for Conversion from Across the Country Terner Center, February 23, 2022 | 3-4 pm EST
During the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented federal and state resources have enabled the conversion of motels and hotels into affordable and permanent supportive housing. Hotel conversions hold promise as a strategy to create housing more quickly and cost effectively than new construction, but challenges related to funding and community opposition remain.
This event will highlight effective strategies and lessons learned from these approaches, as well as the policy changes that are needed to support the long-term success of conversion projects. Panelists will also explore how this body of work can inform the broader policy dialogue around affordable and permanent supportive housing.
HCRC Publications
Falling Through the Cracks? The Distribution of ERAP Spending in New York State
NYU Furman Center, February 2022
This analysis identifies and describes the ZIP Codes in New York City and a subsample of New York State that received lower and higher than expected ERAP applications to inform decisions about how to prioritize areas for other interventions and the allocation of any additional ERA funds that may come to New York State in the future. It finds that low-application outlier ZIP Codes had relatively low rates of pre-pandemic eviction filings and unemployment.
Making the Rent: Household Spending Strategies During The COVID-19 Pandemic Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, January 27, 2022
This paper analyzes data from the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey to identify the financial resources utilized by renters to meet their expenses after losing income. The results indicate that renters relied on numerous and varied financial resources, in many possible combinations, in response to a financial shock. Lower-income renters and renters of color, in particular, have relied on both a range of government supports as well as drawn from a broad spectrum of personal resources, including savings and credit.
Large Corporate Buyers of Residential Rental Housing During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Three Southeastern Metropolitan Areas Georgia Institute of Technology, January 13, 2022 In this brief, the authors use ZTRAX data to describe purchases of multifamily and single family rentals in Atlanta, Miami, and Tampa in the year before and after the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. After a brief pause, large corporate investors increased their purchases during the pandemic, and by summer of 2021, were purchasing homes nearly twice as quickly than in 2019: large corporate buyers comprised 17% of all purchases of single family rentals, and 25% of all purchases in Q2 of 2021.
Navigating Rental Payment and Eviction Data During the Pandemic
Urban Institute, February 16, 2022
The economic impacts of COVID-19 have hit renters harder than homeowners due to their lower levels of income and wealth. Before the pandemic, rental payment data was not publicly available at a national scope; this information was kept internally by private property owners, management companies, and public housing agencies. This brief examines the current status of the rental payment and eviction data, what we have learned from the existing datasets, and what data is needed moving forward.
America’s Rental Housing 2022
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, January 2022
Rental housing demand came roaring back in the second year of the pandemic, reducing vacancy rates and driving up rents. However, lower-income households that took the brunt of job losses still struggle to make rent, reinforcing the stark divide between higher- and lower-income households. The need for a permanent, fully funded housing safety net is more urgent than ever, and a key element of that support must be to protect existing rental housing from the threat of climate change.
Data Update: Analysis Of Renters At Risk As Eviction Moratorium Expires NYU Furman Center, January 15, 2022
To detail the more immediate implications of lapsing regulatory protections in New York State, researchers summarize key data that offer insight into the volume and nature of eviction cases, explain how eviction cases have proceeded through the courts to the stage where tenants have outstanding warrants for eviction, and review the current status of the three principal tenant protections.
