What Have We Learned About Emergency Rental Assistance?

The Housing Initiative at Penn, in partnership with the Housing Crisis Research Collaborative, is pleased to invite you to participate in an closed-door convening to consider the lessons of Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) programs on Friday, September 30th at the Kleinman Center on the University of Pennsylvania’s West Philadelphia campus.

This event will provide an opportunity for leading ERA researchers to assess the state of our knowledge about pandemic-era rental assistance and to consider how these findings should inform future housing policy.

The convening will feature four presentations paired with focused commentary and small-table workshops. The gathering will provide an opportunity to consider key questions, including:

• What is the profile of ERA programs? What features allowed programs to function well?
• What impact did programs have on renters and landlords, and was this impact equitable?
• How should ERAP inform future policy? What are the lessons in terms of advancing housing stability and ensuring emergency preparedness?
• ERAP has dominated housing policy discussions for the last two years; as these programs draw to a close, are there other models for ensuring housing stability that researchers and policymakers should be considering?

The Housing Initiative at Penn has received a generous grant from Wells Fargo to host this convening.