Evaluating the Impact of Temporary Rental Assistance

Last registered on May 30, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Evaluating the Impact of Temporary Rental Assistance
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016111
Initial registration date
May 29, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 30, 2025, 10:11 AM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Name
Jessica Lasky-Fink
Affiliation
Harvard Kennedy School
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Elizabeth Linos
PI Affiliation
Harvard Kennedy School
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Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2025-01-06
End date
2026-12-31
Keywords
Other
Additional Keywords
Housing
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This study involves a collaboration with a mid-sized city’s housing stability department, which administers a temporary rental assistance program. This program provides up to six months of assistance to eligible applicants, including rental arrears, current month’s rent, and up to one future month’s rent. In addition, assistance may be used towards late fees, attorney fees, rental bonds, or other fees incurred in the eviction process. This study will evaluate the effect of rental assistance on households’ housing stability, likelihood of eviction, likelihood of homelessness, and other socioeconomic outcomes such as self-reported financial security and health.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Lasky-Fink, Jessica and Elizabeth Linos. 2025. "Evaluating the Impact of Temporary Rental Assistance." AEA RCT Registry. May 30. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16111-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
The intervention is a government temporary rental assistance program. Rental assistance consists of up to 6 months of financial assistance to cover rental arrears, current month’s rent, and up to one future month’s rent. In addition, assistance may be used towards late fees, attorney fees, rental bonds, or other fees incurred in the eviction process. Rental assistance payments are typically made directly to applying households’ landlords – though in some cases, they may be paid directly to the applicant household.
Intervention Start Date
2025-01-13
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
1. Eviction filing
2. Eviction execution
3. Homelessness
4. Housing mobility
5. Housing insecurity
8. Financial insecurity
9. Food insecurity
10. Mental health
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
In this study, the ‘treatment’ group will be eligible to receive the rental assistance program; the 'control' group will not be eligible to receive the rental assistance in the month they apply.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization is conducted by the research team using Stata. See analysis plan for more details.
Randomization Unit
Randomization will be conducted at the household level.
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
We anticipate having at least 5,500 households by the end of the intervention.
Sample size: planned number of observations
We anticipate having at least 5,500 households by the end of the intervention.
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Treatment: ~2750
Control: ~2750 (or more)
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
See analysis plan.
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Harvard University Committee on the Use of Human Subjects
IRB Approval Date
2024-12-18
IRB Approval Number
24-1554
Analysis Plan

Analysis Plan Documents

Pre-registration

MD5: 647a85c0bbea618597c385fb11ae7202

SHA1: f5fae6550ce06a3e6e37ff84f4698ef23ecb3a30

Uploaded At: May 29, 2025