Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

8-2024

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Program

Sociology, MA

Committee Chair

Heberle, Lauren

Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)

Christopher, Karen

Committee Member

Christopher, Karen

Committee Member

Rollins, Aaron

Author's Keywords

Housing; policy; eviction; discretion; program administrators

Abstract

Previously, eviction has been perceived as a legal problem rather than a social issue. Previous literature examines eviction as a social problem and the role of program administrators in policy implementation. Through a mixed-methods study of in-depth semi structured interviews and secondary descriptive analysis of eviction data, this study serves explores program administrators’ perspectives on housing policy and eviction practices and the impact these perspectives have on policy implementation and eviction prevention. The results indicate that program administrators view eviction as a legal phenomenon influenced by housing market dynamics with eviction prevention efforts limited by data collection and the lack of discretion in policy implementation. Eviction data trends contextualize the local perspectives of program administrators. Policy recommendations include funding eviction prevention efforts that expand affordable housing and increase tenant protections to rectify the power imbalance between the tenant and landlord. Future research should incorporate perspectives on eviction prevention and housing policy from other actors involved in the eviction process such as policymakers and tenants. Furthermore, socioeconomic characteristics like race incorporated in previous literature should be analyzing when addressing the impact of housing policies and eviction practices aimed to combat eviction.

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