Credit access and housing insecurity: Evidence from winter utility shutoff protections

Abstract

Fifty-six percent of urban renters face some level of housing insecurity. I explore the role of credit access, or lack thereof, as a contributing factor. To do so, I study a temporary line of credit extended to households in the form of protection from heat shutoffs during the winter. These protections allow households to delay winter energy payments without risk of losing their heat. I adopt a triple difference-in-differences (DDD) approach, leveraging variation in states’ shutoff protection dates and census tracts’ average energy burdens. I estimate that the temporary extension of credit reduces the eviction filing rate by 4% in census tracts with high energy burdens. I provide suggestive evidence that eviction filings do not spike after the temporary credit access ends, implying a net negative effect of temporary credit access on filings over the entire year. I further demonstrate that a 3% increase in rental payments explains the decline in eviction filings, which is consistent with access to credit allowing renters to smooth consumption.