Understanding Barriers to Take-up of Short-term Rental Assistance

Short-term rental assistance (SRA) can provide vital support for individuals at risk of eviction and homelessness, but only if the funds are actually delivered to those in need. Recent research by the Inclusive Economy Lab (IEL) of the funding allocation process used by Chicago’s Homelessness Prevention Call Center (HPCC), a referral hub for SRA paid directly to landlords, found that this can be a challenge. Program take-up was low: many individuals with pending eviction cases did not request assistance, and among those requesting assistance who were determined eligible, only one in eight referred callers ultimately received funds. What is unclear from this analysis is why take-up rates are low. To understand this, we propose using administrative data and surveys to study barriers to SRA take-up for eligible individuals. We hypothesize three key obstacles: lack of information about the availability of SRA among eligible renters, difficulty in meeting the documentation requirements after receiving a referral, and landlords’ unwillingness to cooperate. This pilot project will survey case managers who help eligible callers apply for SRA, HPCC callers who were referred for SRA, and individuals who are named in an eviction case filing. Findings from this exploratory project will inform a future randomized controlled trial in which we will test interventions that lower the key barriers to SRA take-up we identify. We will evaluate if these interventions lead to higher take-up and lower rates of homelessness and eviction.