The Role of Rental Assistance in Mitigating Mental Health Disparities During COVID-19

UC Riverside’s observational evaluation found Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) recipients reported significantly lower anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with applicants still awaiting disbursement—effects likely mediated by eviction prevention and greater access to care.

The analysis compared low-income tenants who received aid with applicants awaiting funds, using validated measures of anxiety and depression. Recipients had lower symptom scores and fewer indicators of mental distress across measured endpoints, consistent with an overall mental-health benefit among those who received ERA relative to those still waiting for support.

Recipients were also more likely to seek mental-health services than applicants awaiting disbursement, with measurable increases in care-seeking among symptomatic individuals. Because the rental assistance eased immediate financial strain, barriers such as cost, time, and acute stress were reduced—making treatment engagement more feasible and creating earlier opportunities for intervention.

Program features associated with effectiveness included rapid disbursement, broad eligibility, and explicit eviction-prevention goals. Together, these elements supported housing stability as an upstream determinant that buffers income-related stressors linked to mood and anxiety disorders while avoiding prescriptive clinical recommendations. Community planners can view these operational features as lessons for integrating housing supports into population-health strategies.

Rental support thus functions as an actionable upstream strategy that can complement clinic-based screening and referral pathways. Future evaluations should test the durability of mental-health gains, the scalability of delivery, and equity of program reach across diverse renter populations.

Key Takeaways:

• ERA receipt was associated with lower anxiety and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic, likely by preventing evictions.
• Recipients of ERA reported increased use of mental-health services compared with applicants awaiting disbursement.
• These observational findings suggest policies reducing housing instability may improve mental health and access to care; further study should assess durability, scalability, and equity.