Choice denied: impact of income and credit-based tenant screening on the Housing Choice Voucher program
Name
Choice denied impact of income and credit-based tenant screening on the Housing Choice Voucher program.pdf
Size
4.66 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
35b3637884a6be49641f53e9a17aa3c0
Author(s)
So, Wonyoung
Gade, Anisha
Hangen, Forrest
Date Issued
April 30, 2025
Journal
Housing Studies
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Citation
So, W., Gade, A., & Hangen, F. (2025). Choice denied: impact of income and credit-based tenant screening on the Housing Choice Voucher program. Housing Studies, 1–26.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Housing Choice Voucher program supports over 2.5 million households by subsidizing rent payments within the private housing market. However, challenges arise due to exclusionary practices, undermining the program’s goal of ‘choice.’ Tenant screening practices have been critical in exacerbating these challenges, yet their impact remains understudied. Drawing on tenant screening criteria documents from property management websites and the Survey of Consumer Finances, this study finds that while voucher holders generally meet rent-to-income thresholds due to the subsidies—keeping their rent burden relative to their income, they still face barriers related to credit scores, bankruptcy history, and debt. These criteria, which apply to both voucher and non-voucher renters, may exclude approximately one in ten voucher holders, despite the guaranteed portion of rent covered by public assistance. These findings show an urgent need for policy interventions to the potential exclusionary impacts of tenant screening services.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Urban Studies and Planning
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2025.2498385
