The COVID-19 pandemic and associated economic disruption of 2020–2021 posed severe challenges for national housing markets. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention imposed national eviction moratoria as public health measures for most of a year-long period beginning September 4, 2020. Numerous government agencies took parallel actions, including federal, state, and local foreclosure moratoria that affected homeowners, renters, landlords, and financial institutions. Housing instability associated with financial difficulties, family instability, or health problems poses substantial risk to children and their caregivers, including risk of homelessness and increased risk of COVID-19 infection.^{6, 7, 8, 9}

The most recent available data from the American Housing Survey show that, in 2019, there were an estimated 12.8 million renter households with children. There were another 22.9 million owner households with children, of which 17.7 million households had mortgages.¹⁰ Financial difficulties reported include being behind on payments, lacking confidence in ability to make payments during the next 2 months, and perceiving a risk of eviction or foreclosure within 2 months.

Figure 4: Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that experienced housing instability by age of children and status as a renter or homeowner with a mortgage, July 21, 2021–January 10, 2022

• About 22% of renter households with children were not current on rent during July 21, 2021–January 10, 2022. About 17% anticipated future housing instability, reporting that they were not at all confident they could make the next rent payment.
• About 10% of renter households with children reported that eviction was somewhat or very likely within the next 2 months.
• Among homeowners with children and a mortgage, 4% were not at all confident in making the next mortgage payment and 2% reported that foreclosure was somewhat or very likely in the next 2 months.
• Homeowner households with children reported housing instability at lower rates than renter households with children. Among homeowners with children and a mortgage, 8% reported being behind on their mortgage payments during July 21, 2021–January 10, 2022.
• Both homeowner and renter families were less likely to experience several types of housing instability if they have only preschool-age children ages 0–4 rather than older children for whom school disruptions may create increased caregiver demands and for whom expenditures for housing, food, medical care, and transportation are generally greater.¹¹

Over the course of the pandemic, the economic downturn, employment layoffs, health problems, and child care needs caused significant financial distress that households may have experienced in waves. Several courses of Federal stimulus and transfer payments during 2020 and early 2021, including child tax credit payments in 2021, may at various points have helped reduce housing payment difficulties and housing instability.¹²

Figure 5. Percentage of households with children ages 0–17 that experienced housing instability by status as a renter or homeowner with a mortgage, August 19, 2020–January 10, 2022

• For renter and homeowner households with children, most measures of finance-related housing instability reached their peak during October 28, 2020–January 18, 2021 and their lowest level during April 12–June 21, 2021 before some types of problems again grew more prevalent.
• Renter households with children experienced improvements in each measure of housing instability between October 28, 2020–January 18, 2021 and April 12–June 21, 2021. For example, the percentage of households who were not at all confident in their ability to pay their next rent payment decreased from 19% in the earlier period to 14% during the later period.
• Renter households with children experienced renewed housing instability by several measures during late 2021, but problems were not as severe as previously. During the most recent period of September 1, 2021–January 10, 2022, the percentage not current on rent was 22% compared with 27% at the peak levels of a year earlier, and the percentage behind on rent and reporting eviction was either somewhat or very likely within 2 months was 10% compared with 13% at the peak.
• During the most recent period, 18% of renters with children were not at all confident in making their next rent payment, a rate that is not different from the highest value of 19% reported during October 28, 2020–January 18, 2021.
• Among homeowner households with children and mortgage debt, the prevalence of housing instability during the most recent period was improved by all three measures relative to the peak levels observed during October 28, 2020–January 18, 2021. For example, by September 1, 2021–January 10, 2022, some 8% of homeowner households with children were not up to date on mortgage payments, compared with 12% in late 2020; 4% were not at all confident in making their next mortgage payment, down from 6% in late 2020; and 1% thought foreclosure was somewhat or very likely during the next 2 months, down from 3% in late 2020.

Among renters, those from racial and ethnic minority groups and those in single-female-headed households may experience additional risk. There are substantial disparities in housing instability for these populations and varying experiences during the pandemic.

The risk of housing instability among families with children is strongly associated with household income. Federal Poverty Guidelines provide a benchmark for material deprivation that adjusts for family size. In 2021, the poverty level for a family of four was $26,500.¹³ About 8.7 million renters with children had incomes less than 200% of the poverty level in 2021, more than twice the 4.1 million renters with children that had incomes greater than 200% of the poverty level. There are substantial disparities in the rate of housing instability among renters with children with incomes above and below 200% of the poverty level. These data were collected during the period that the labor market was regaining strength and restrictions on eviction were ending.

Figure 6. Percentage of renter households with children ages 0–17 that were not current on rent by race and Hispanic origin, single-female head, and poverty status, June 23, 2021–January 10, 2022

• Among renter households with children, households of racial and ethnic minority groups were more likely than White, non-Hispanic households to be behind on rent during June 21, 2021–January 10, 2022.
• Being behind on rent was more likely to be reported by Black, Non-Hispanic (32%), Hispanic (22%), and Other, non-Hispanic (24%) households than for White, Non-Hispanic households (16%). The prevalence for Asian, Non-Hispanic (22%) was not significantly different from that of White, Non-Hispanic households.
• Single-female-headed renter households with children also were more likely to be behind on rent (28%) than were other heads of households (17%).
• During the same period, 22% of renter households with children were behind on rent. Those with incomes at or below 200% poverty were more likely to be behind on rent (28%) compared to those with incomes above 200% poverty (10%).

 BRIEF3.A HTML Table | BRIEF3.B HTML Table | BRIEF3.C HTML Table | BRIEF3.D HTML Table | BRIEF3.E HTML Table | BRIEF3.F HTML Table