Stable housing is a good thing, and the loss of stable housing carries significant and well-documented consequences both for the individual and for society.

Unstable housing makes regular medical care, access to medical treatment and adherence to complex treatment regimens more difficult. Housing stability concerns are linked to high levels of stress and mental health problems. The connection between housing and health is so well documented, many private and public organizations devote significant resources toward improving health through improved access to housing. For example, UnitedHealth Group recently began providing free or very-low cost housing to homeless members in an effort to save money on medical treatment after concluding that providing housing to homeless individuals is more cost-effective than paying the high medical costs associated with homelessness.

Unstable housing can lead to frequent school changes, high rates of absenteeism, and low test scores among children. Housing instability and homelessness can threaten a child’s academic attendance and success and contribute to long-lasting achievement gaps. Public school students in Minneapolis with one episode of homelessness had significantly lower math and reading achievement compared to other low-income, but stably-housed peers. Students in third through eighth grade with unstable housing had poorer academic achievement than students in those grades with stable housing. Furthermore, this achievement gap widened over time.

Conversely, a recent study found that for every year that a child lives in tax-subsidized housing they are 3.5% more likely to attend a higher education program for four years or more and see a 3.2% increase in future earnings. The study concluded that this effect is likely due to the stability provided by the housing subsidy.

In extreme cases, unstable housing can lead to homelessness. Homelessness in Minnesota increased by 10% from 2015 through 2018 and unsheltered homelessness increased 92% during the same time period. There are now more than 10,000 homeless individuals in Minnesota, of which an estimated 3,000 are children. Unstable housing and homelessness are also linked to child abuse and neglect.

If housing instability negatively affects our entire society, then any process which results in housing instability must be evaluated by how well it balances achieving its legitimate goals with protecting and promoting housing stability.

Residential eviction actions, by definition, are processes which result in housing instability. Throughout Minnesota, approximately 28.4% of households rent. In our two most densely populated cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, more than 50% of households rent. Evictions, also called Unlawful Detainers or UDs, are court cases filed by landlords against their tenants. An eviction action determines who should have possession of a rental unit. Specifically, if the landlord wins the eviction action, they get a writ of recovery of premises. This writ goes to the sheriff and orders the sheriff to remove the tenant, by force if necessary.

Evictions also carry lasting consequences for the individual or family beyond the initial forced move. Evictions are public court records and become publicly searchable on the internet the moment they are filed. They remain in the court system forever and can be reported by tenant screening companies for up to seven years per federal law. Most landlords perform tenant screening to identify past evictions. Many landlords have outright bans against leasing to tenants who have had an eviction action filed against them, regardless of the outcome of the court case. As a result, evicted families have few options and often face longer periods of homelessness because future prospective landlords frequently deny applicants with any eviction on their record. Eviction records and unpaid rental debts can also prevent families from qualifying for subsidized housing programs.

Approximately 16,000 evictions are filed each year in Minnesota. The majority of these court cases successfully end up removing the tenant from their current home. Evictions are certainly a necessary part of our current housing system. However, they are the primary threat to and cause of housing instability for many Minnesotan households. As such, they should be evaluated by how well they limit that harm.