Impact of services on retaining subsidized housing

The most common reason for lease violations among residents of subsidized housing in the United States is late and nonpayment of rent, which can lead to eviction. However, little is known about what services offered to residents assist in retaining housing. Mercy Housing, the third largest nonprofit provider of subsidized housing in the United States, offers a variety of social support services to address elements of social exclusion, such as poverty, unemployment, and housing instability. Using propensity score matching and multilevel logistic regression, we test the impact of using services on housing retention among households that received a lease violation for late payment of rent between 2012 and 2014. Results indicate that using services to address social capital/companionship and instrumental/tangible needs are predictors of retaining housing. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.