Predictors of eviction and quality of tenant-landlord relationships during the 2020-2021 eviction moratorium in the U.S.

Abstract

AbstractIn 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued several agency orders that put into effect a national moratorium on evictions for over one year to limit transmission of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Little is known about landlord and tenant behaviors during the eviction moratorium. The current study used three waves of data from May 2020-April 2021 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. middle- and low-income tenants (n= 3,393 in Wave 1, n= 1,311 in Wave 2, and 814 in Wave 3) to examine tenants who were evicted during the eviction moratorium and the reported effects of the moratorium on tenant rental payments and tenant-landlord relationships. Across three Waves, 4.3% of tenants reported experiencing an eviction during the moratorium and 6-23% of tenants reported delaying paying rent because of the moratorium. Multivariable analyses found that tenants who delayed paying their rent, were female, or had a history of mental illness or substance use disorder were significantly more likely to report the eviction moratorium had a negative effect on the relationship with their landlord. Analyses also revealed that testing positive for COVID-19 was not a significant predictor of eviction but tenants with a history a homelessness were more than 9 times as likely to report an eviction than those without such a history. Together, these findings suggest the eviction moratorium has had some unintended consequences on rent payments and tenant-landlord relationships that need to be considered in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.