HUD Administrative Data Licenses Facilitate Key Policy Insights

HUD Administrative Data Licenses Facilitate Key Policy Insights

By Gretchen Armstrong, Jacquie Bachand, and Rae Winegardner

In administering its housing assistance programs, HUD collects extensive data on its program participants, including demographic, income, and geographic information on assisted households. Because this resource can potentially answer important policy questions, HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) offers researchers the opportunity to enter into Data License Agreements (DLAs) with HUD to access these restricted data. To access restricted HUD data, researchers must submit an online application that includes policy-relevant research questions, demonstrates that their research designs require such sensitive information, and details the appropriate safeguards in place to protect any potentially identifiable information. Through its DLA process, PD&R seeks to advance research priorities including, but not limited to, homeownership and housing finance, affordable rental housing, housing as a platform for improving quality of life, and sustainable and inclusive communities.

In 2023, PD&R contacted investigators who established DLAs within the past 5 years to learn more about how they used HUD administrative data in their research, whether they published their work, and how HUD might support dissemination of key findings and policy recommendations. Twenty-three researchers responded, representing 14 academic institutions and 5 research organizations. In total, these researchers have generated more than 50 publications, reports, and fact sheets, which, in turn, other researchers have referenced at least 214 times, according to Google Scholar (See the full bibliography below). Nine researchers reported analyses in progress or manuscripts in review.

Several examples of recently published research that our survey recipients have shared are summarized below.

Homeownership and Wealth Disparities

Eldemire, Luchtenberg, and Wynter from the University of Tennessee, American University, and Stony Brook University, respectively, used HUD administrative data from the Public and Indian Housing Information Center to publish a paper on wealth accumulation among low-income households receiving homeownership vouchers. The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) homeownership program is open to families in participating public housing agencies (PHAs) that already have been admitted to the HCV program. Program participants receive housing assistance for mortgage payments and homeownership expenses as well as housing- and credit- counseling services. Eldemire and colleagues found that households in the HCV homeownership program gained an average of $3,300 in wealth. Minority-headed households, however, showed lower rates of wealth accumulation, with an average gain of only $1,500 — a finding consistent with other research suggesting that homeownership does not effectively reduce racial disparities in wealth accumulation. The researchers further noted that the specific neighborhoods participants chose, the quality of assistance received from their PHAs, and whether the home was purchased in a housing boom or bust year were all factors that influenced the observed racial disparities.

Use of Tenant-Based Vouchers To Address Homelessness

A 2022 study by the social science research firm Abt Associates used HUD administrative data to evaluate the use of HCVs to provide permanent supportive housing for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness in Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County PHAs devote a large share of their regular HCVs and vouchers from the HUD-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program, which targets homeless veterans with disabilities, to assist people experiencing homelessness; the county supported nearly 13,000 people from 2016 to 2020. Most of these vouchers went to single individuals rather than families, and many of those served had disabilities. In addition, more than half of the vouchers were issued to people who identified as Black, which is consistent with the racial composition of the county's population of individuals experiencing homelessness.

Abt's analysis revealed several patterns that can inform the use of vouchers to address homelessness. First, the researchers found that a slightly higher percentage of households experiencing homelessness (65%) successfully leased a unit with the voucher than did other voucher holders (61%), perhaps because of their increased motivation to find a home or the additional supports they received. The researchers also found that households experiencing homelessness typically took more than 180 days to find housing, which reflects the challenges facing many low-income residents in the Los Angeles area. Voucher households experiencing homelessness also were more likely than other voucher holders to rent units in areas with high concentrations of poverty.

Length of Stay in Assisted Housing

Kirk McClure of University of Kansas used a HUD data license to examine the length of stay for participants in assisted housing. The research compared the length of stay among HUD programs (public housing, HCV, and project-based Section 8), determined whether the length of stay changed over time for the various cohorts, examined contributing factors, and looked for a threshold in the stay-length distribution. The analysis used a survival analysis that incorporated household characteristics and external market factors. McClure found that the typical household that left assisted housing stayed for approximately 6 years. There were observed differences among the household types, with elderly households staying for approximately 9 years, disabled households for 5 years, and nonelderly families with children staying for approximately 4 years. For all groups, the length of stay increased between 1.1 and 1.7 years over the study period (2000 to 2015). Within the HCV program, racial and ethnic minorities appeared to stay for longer periods, although that trend did not hold for residents of public housing or project-based Section 8 housing.

The work from this data license, which has been cited 23 times as of October 2023, continues to further housing research.

Association of Housing Vouchers With Hospital Utilization and Spending

Craig Pollack of Johns Hopkins University also used a HUD data license to publish an influential paper that has garnered interest among both housing and medical professionals and has been cited 30 times to date. This study explored the impact of HCV participation on hospital utilization and spending. Administrative data from the Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program were linked to hospital discharge and Medicaid data from 1995 to 2015. The exploratory analysis examined rates of hospitalizations, hospital inpatient days, and hospital spending among voucher holders and a control group. The analysis revealed no significant differences between the groups among adults. However, receipt of a voucher during childhood was significantly associated with lower hospitalization rates (6.3% per 100 person-years compared with 7.3 percent per 100 person-years for the control group) and yearly inpatient spending ($633 compared with $785 for the control group).

HUD Data License Applications

Additional details about the HUD data licensing program — including the application, privacy rules, and a tenant data dictionary — can be found on huduser.gov.

Publications Using HUD Administrative Data Obtained Through PD&R Data Licenses

E. Mitchell Elder, R. Enos, T. Mendelberg. " The Long-Term Effects of Neighborhood Disadvantage on Voting Behavior: The “Moving to Opportunity” Experiment” American Political Science Review, July 28, 2023.

David Cheng, Vicki Fung, Radhika Shah, Sydney Goldberg, Boram Lee, Glory Song,, Jacqueline Doane, Melody Kingsley, Patricia Henley, Christopher Banthin, Jonathan P. Winickoff, Nancy A. Rigotti, Douglas E. Levy. “Smoke-Free Policies and Resident Turnover: An Evaluation in Massachusetts Public Housing From 2009‒2018” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, January 10, 2023.

Ashleigh Eldemire, Kimberly F. Luchtenberg, Matthew M. Wynter. 2022. “Does Homeownership Reduce Wealth Disparities for Low-Income and Minority Households?” The Review of Corporate Finance Studies 11:3, 465–510.

Jill Khadduri, Nichole Fiore, Samuel Dastrup, Lauren Dunton, Keely Jones Stater, Haisheng Yang. 2022. “Using Tenant-based Housing Vouchers to Help End Homelessness in Los Angeles, 2016–2020,” Abt Associates.

Jeffrey Lubell. “The Impacts of a Financial Capability-Based Family Self-Sufficiency Program” Abt Associates Research Brief, February 2022.

Erik Gartland. “Chart Book: Funding Limitations Create Widespread Unmet Need for Rental Assistance” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, February 15, 2022.

Herman T. Knopf, Maya Schreiber, Remy Pages, Dévonja Daley, Jing Huang, Phillip Sherlock, Robert Chapman, Yanning Wang, Jiawei Li. “The Economic Self Sufficiency Analysis Annual Report” Early Childhood Policy Research Group (ECPRG), May 2022.

Ashley Gromis, James R. Hendrickson, Matthew Desmond. “Eviction from public housing in the United States” Cities, August 21, 2022.

Huiyun Kim, Nicole M. Schmidt, Theresa L. Osypuk, Naomi Thyden, & David Rehkopf. “Effects of housing vouchers on the long-term exposure to neighbourhood opportunity among low-income families: The Moving to Opportunity Experiment” Housing Studies, August 21, 2022.

Daniel Teles, Olivia Fiol, and Yipeng Su. “Families in Subsidized Rental Units Rarely Live in Low-Poverty Neighborhoods” Urban Institute, September 2022.

Joshi, Spruha; Schmidt, Nicole; Thyden, Naomi; Glymour, Maria; Nelson, Toben; Haynes, David; Osypuk, Theresa. “Do alcohol outlets mediate the effects of the Moving to Opportunity experiment on adolescent excessive drinking? A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial” Substance Use & Misuse, September 3, 2022. 

Naomi H Thyden, Nicole M Schmidt, Spruha Joshi, Huiyun Kim, Toben F Nelson, Theresa L Osypuk. “Housing Mobility Protects Against Alcohol Use for Children with Socioemotional Health Vulnerabilities: An Experimental Design” Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, September 2022.

Nicole M. Schmidt, M. Maria Glymour, Theresa L. Osypuk. 2021. “Does the temporal pattern of moving to a higher quality neighborhood across a 5-year period predict psychological distress among adolescents? Results from a federal housing experiment.” American Journal of Epidemiology, 190-6: 998-1008.

K McClure, A Schwartz. “Movement to high-opportunity and racial/ethnic integration for Hispanics in the Housing Choice Voucher program” Cityscape, November 2021.

Haisheng Yang,  Lesley Freiman and Jeffrey Lubell. “Early Assessment of the Impacts of Multifamily Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Programs Administered by Compass Working Capital in Partnership with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH)” Abt Associates, October 2021.

Will Fischer and Erik Gartland. “Housing Vouchers in Economic Recovery Bill Would Sharply Cut Homelessness, Housing Instability” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, September 23, 2021.

Anna Bailey, Raquel de la Huerga, and Erik Gartland. “More Housing Vouchers Needed to Help People With Disabilities Afford Stable Homes in the Community” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, September 15, 2021.

CE Pollack, DG Bozzi, AL Blackford. “Using the Moving to Opportunity Experiment to Investigate the Long-Term Impact of Neighborhoods on Healthcare Use by Specific Clinical Conditions and Type of Service” Housing Policy, September 10, 2021.

Lesley Freiman, Hannah Thomas, and Jeffrey Lubell.  “Examining non-enrollment in Family Self-Sufficiency programs administered by Compass Working Capital” Abt Associates, August 2021.

Will Fischer, Sonya Acosta, and Erik Gartland. “More Housing Vouchers: Most Important Step to Help More People Afford Stable Homes” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, May 13, 2021.

Rudolph KE, Gimbrone C, Díaz I. “Helped into Harm: Mediation of a Housing Voucher Intervention on Mental Health and Substance Use in Boys” Epidemiology, May 1, 2021.

Will Fischer, Sonya Acosta, and Anna Bailey. 2021. “An Agenda for the Future of Public Housing” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 21, 2021.

Joseph Llobrera and Lauren Hall. 2021. “Overview: Current System Leaves Great Unmet Need, Lifts Few Out of Poverty,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. January 28, 2021. A Frayed and Fragmented System of Supports for Low-Income Adults Without Minor Children, Washington, DC.

Matt Broaddus. 2021. “ ACA Medicaid Expansion Offers Long-Needed Health Insurance Coverage to Low-Income Adults Without Children”  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Joseph Llobrera, Caitlin Nchako, Lauren Hall. 2021. “SNAP Restricts Nutrition Assistance for Low-Income Non-Elderly Adults Not Living With Minor Children” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Alicia Mazzara, Erik Gartland, Will Fischer. 2021. “Inadequate Funding Prevents Federal Rental Assistance From Reaching Most Low-Income Adults Who Need It” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Kris Cox, Sam Waxman, Harjot Sodhi, and Stephanie Hingtgen. 2021. “Strengthening the EITC for Low-Income, Non-Elderly Working Adults Would Boost Incomes and Reduce Poverty” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Liz Schott. 2021. “State General Assistance Programs Provide Cash Aid to Few Low-Income Adults” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 28, 2021.

Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation. 2020. 2019: Trends in Housing Assistance and Who It Serves, Cheshire, CT.

Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation. 2020. 2020 Housing Impact Report:  Seniors, Cheshire, CT.

Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation. 2020. 2020 Housing Impact Report:  Children Bridging the Digital Divide, Cheshire, CT.

Kara E. Rudolph, Jonathan Levy, Nicole Schmidt, Elizabeth Stuart, Jennifer Ahern. 2020. “Using Transportability to Epidemiology Understand Differences in Mediation Mechanisms Across Trial Sites of a Housing Voucher Experiment,” Epidemiology, 31:4, 523-533.

Kara E. Rudolph, Jonathan Levy, Mark van der Laan. 2020. “Transporting stochastic direct and indirect effects to new populations,” Biometrics, 77:1, 197-211.

Nicole M. Schmidt, Naomi Thyden, Huiyun Kim, Theresa L. Osypuk. 2020. “Do peer social relationships mediate the harmful effects of a housing mobility experiment on boys’ risky behaviors?” Annals of Epidemiology, 48, 36-42.

Sonya Acosta, Anna Bailey, and Peggy Bailey. 2020. “Extend CARES Act Eviction Moratorium, Combine With Rental Assistance to Promote Housing Stability,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, July, 27, 2020.

Nicole Schmidt, Quynh Nguyen, Rebecca Kehm, Theresa L. Osypuk. 2020. “Do Changes in Neighborhood Social Context Mediate The Effects Of The Moving To Opportunity Experiment On Adolescent Mental Health?” Health And Place, May 2020, 63.

Peggy Bailey. 2020. “Housing and Health Partners Can Work Together to Close the Housing Affordability Gap,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, January 17, 2020.

Michael Lens, Kirk McClure, Brent Mast. 2019. “Does Jobs Proximity Matter in the Housing Choice Voucher Program?” Cityscape, 21:1, 143-162.

Kirk McClure, Alex Schwartz. 2019. “Small area fair market rents, race, and neighborhood opportunity,” Cityscape, 21:3 49-70.

Craig Pollack, Amanda Blackford, Shawn Du, et al. 2019. “Association of Receipt of a Housing Voucher with Subsequent Hospital Utilization and Spending,” Journal of the American Medical Association 322:21, 2115-24.

Craig E. Pollack, Shawn Du, Amanda L. Blackford, and Bradley Herring. 2019. “Experiment to decrease neighborhood poverty had limited effects on emergency department use,” Health Affairs, 38:9, 1442-1450.

Anne Ray, Ruoniu Wang, Diep Nguyen, Jim Martinez, Nicholas Taylor, Jennison Kipp Searcy. 2019. “Household Energy Costs and the Housing Choice Voucher Program: Do Utility Allowances Pay the Bills?” Housing Policy Debate, 29:4, 607-626.

Will Fischer, Douglas Rice, Alicia Mazzara. 2019. “Research Shows Rental Assistance Reduces Hardship and Provides Platform to Expand Opportunity for Low-Income Families,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, December 5, 2019.

Judy Geyer, Lesley Freiman, Jeffrey Lubell, Micah Villarreal. 2019. “Using the Family Self-Sufficiency Program to Help Families with Housing Assistance Improve Earnings, Credit Score, and Debt Levels: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis,” The Journal of Consumer Affairs, Fall 2019, 796-824.

Kirk McClure. 2018. “Length of Stay in Assisted Housing,” Cityscape 20:1, 11-38.

Theresa L. Osypuk, Spruha Joshi, Nicole M. Schmidt, M. Maria Glymour, Toben Nelson. 2018. “Effects of a federal housing voucher experiment on adolescent binge drinking: a secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial,” Addiction, 114:1, 48-58.

Samuel Dastrup, Lesley Freiman, Jeffrey Lubell, Micah Villarreal, Daniel Weiss. 2017. “Interim Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Compass Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Program,” Abt Associates, Prepared for Compass Working Capital and HUD.

Judy Geyer, Lesley Freiman, Jeffrey Lubell, Micah Villarreal. 2017. “Evaluation of the Compass Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) Programs Administered in Partnership with Public Housing Agencies in Lynn and Cambridge, Massachusetts,” Abt Associates, Prepared for Compass Working Capital and HUD.

Han Bum Lee, Paul E. McNamara. 2017. “Achieving Economic Self -Sufficiency Through Housing Assistance: An Assessment of a Self-Sufficiency Program of  the Housing Authority of Champaign County,” Housing Policy Debate, 28:6,876-900.

Han Bum Lee, Paul E. McNamara. 2017. “Deconcentrating the poor via public housing policy: What really matters?” Socio-Economic Planning Sciences 59, 67-78.