High and Dry: Rental Markets After Flooding Disasters

Abstract

Recent disasters across the United States highlight the devastating effect of climate-change on individuals and households. The effects of these disasters on access to housing and housing stability are pressing issues of social equity and urban policy. How, if at all, do disasters affect rents? We find that severe floods are associated with significant increases in rents for households renting units priced at the bottom of the rent distribution, but not the middle or the top. Second, is there a relationship between federal rental assistance to affected households and any price changes in the market? We find that disaster rental assistance is not associated with changes in rents after flooding disasters. These findings raise important questions about how policy should support low-income renters after disasters, including those not directly displaced by the disaster who are facing increased rents after a disaster but unable to access federal post-disaster rental assistance.