Does receiving rental assistance improve housing stability among vulnerable populations?
Project Summary
The United States is facing a growing housing crisis. In Denver, both eviction filings and homelessness have increased rapidly over the past few years – more than 15,000 residents faced eviction in 2024 alone. The People Lab is working with the City of Denver’s Department of Housing Stability (HOST) to co-design and test the effectiveness of its Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance (TRUA) program, which provides tenants at risk of eviction with financial assistance to pay off back owed rent. This study launched in January 2025, with initial results expected in late 2026.
Why is this issue important?
Housing instability has been shown to have significant and potentially long-lasting consequences on economic, physical health, and mental health outcomes. Housing instability also disproportionately affects communities of color and families with children, thus exacerbating racial and socioeconomic inequities. One of the primary policy levers for reducing evictions and preventing homelessness among this population is temporary rental assistance, yet evidence on its impact is limited and mixed.
What are we doing?
In collaboration with HOST, we co-designed a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of Denver County’s rental assistance program, which is highly oversubscribed. Each month, about half of all applicants for the program will be randomly assigned to be offered rental assistance (pending eligibility review). The other half will not be offered rental assistance that month, but can apply again in future months. Using a combination of surveys and administrative data, we will measure the impact of the program on households’ likelihood of eviction, use of homelessness services, and socioeconomic outcomes.
What have we learned?
This project is ongoing.
What comes next?
Initial results are expected in late 2026.