Research

This research offers organizational- and policy-level insights into the implementation and sustainability of delivering resident services. To enable and improve this field, a call is made to policymakers and other funders to increase the stability and availability of funding for resident services. This opportunity, if met by government, foundations, private donors, and organizations themselves, has the potential to transform not only the physical, emotional, and financial health of residents, but our definition of and approach to housing as we know it.

The goal of eviction prevention is continued housing stability. 

We developed the NeighborWorks America Financial Capability for Renters Pilot to learn how best to effectively provide financial capability services to the renters living in affordable multifamily rental housing owned by NeighborWorks organizations. 

Now that many low-income housing tax credit properties are being built or renovated to higher energy standards, many owners and managers find that traditional tenant utility allowance models are overestimating electricity, fuel and water consumption. Excessive utility allowances discourage residents from conserving energy and reduces property value. 

Affordable housing units are increasingly lost or at risk of losing government subsidies, and naturally-occurring affordable housing untis are likely to be used to serve higher-income households. This report highlights 16 leading efforts and innovative approaches to preserve affordable housing, including below-market debt funds, private equity vehicles, and real estate investment trusts.

There is no question that eviction is bad news for renters. Forced moves put individuals and families at risk in so many ways: They have a more difficult time being accepted as tenants elsewhere; they frequently are disconnected from social-support networks, health care providers, employment and schools; and the stress takes a psychological toll of its own. For property owners and managers, turnover means additional expense for legal procedures, recruitment of new tenants and apartment make-ready. But in the nonprofit, mission-oriented world, it's not just about money; it's also about addressing the underlying challenges that drive nonpayment of rent to begin with. The question is what (resident) services are most successful as well as cost efficient. This is the issue this study set out to explore.