To Whom Do Housing Policies Provide Stable Housing? Examining Housing Assistance Recipients and Leavers

By analyzing the Panel Study of Income Dynamics data combined with the Assisted Housing Database, this study explores the associations between the five statuses related to receiving or leaving from a certain type of housing assistance and the subsequent housing instability experience. These statuses include households that (1) reside in a public or project-based subsidized housing (PH) unit, (2) leave a PH unit, (3) receive a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV), (4) withdraw from the HCV program, and (5) are unsubsidized but income-eligible to receive housing assistance. The results reveal that, although all subsidized households tend to experience less housing instability than do income-eligible, unsubsidized households, HCV recipients are relatively more likely to experience housing instability than are PH residents. In addition, the likelihood of experiencing housing instability among PH and HCV leavers does not differ significantly from the likelihood among the unsubsidized households, suggesting that they may leave their programs prematurely.