Out of Control: Growth and Indirect Discrimination in Ada and Canyon Counties' Rental Processes

Abstract

Minimal research has been done on race in evictions and the rental process, and those studies that have been performed have been limited to narrow geographical regions (Thomas, 2017; Desmond, 2016). Additionally, research hasn’t been extended to Idaho, a state that is recognized for its rapid population growth. Research on evictions’ impact on New Americans is essentially nonexistent. Employing the Naïve Bayes Model, a modification of the Naïve Bayes Model, and content analysis of interviews, this study sought to uncover the impact of racial discrimination and growth in the eviction process. The results proved that black and Latinx minorities are evicted at higher rates than their white and Asian counterparts and that a lack of tenant protections and rapidly increasing housing prices, among other things, have played pivotal roles in Idaho’s eviction rates, specifically of racial minorities.