Navigating the Post-Pandemic Landscape: The Evolving Challenge of Eviction Prevention in the U.S.

Evictions are a growing challenge in many parts of the United States, especially as cities navigate the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, providing stable housing became a national priority.

With federal funding like Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) and other programs, cities introduced measures such as rental assistance, eviction diversion programs, and legal aid to help families stay in their homes.

However, as the pandemic ended, many of these programs lost funding, leading to a rise in evictions across the country. Here is a look at how eviction prevention efforts have evolved and what the future might hold.
 

A National Effort to Understand Evictions

To better understand eviction prevention efforts, the National League of Cities (NLC) partnered with Stanford Law School’s Legal Design Lab to create the Eviction Prevention Policy and Program Tool. This resource was designed to help policymakers, nonprofits, researchers, and others track eviction prevention programs across the U.S.

The tool’s first version, launched in 2022, covered over 500 policies and programs in 200 cities. By 2025, the tool has been updated to include data from 400 cities, documenting over 800 policies—both active and historical—that aimed to prevent evictions.
 

The Impact of ERA During the Pandemic

Between 2021 and 2022, federal Emergency Rental Assistance programs distributed $46.6 billion in funding. Over 10 million renter households across the U.S. were supported, and experts estimate that these efforts helped prevent millions of evictions during the pandemic.

This funding was a lifeline for countless families, but by 2025, much of it had run out. As a result, only 12% of surveyed cities still had an active rental assistance program in 2025, a sharp decline from 28% in 2022.
 

Shifting Approaches to Eviction Prevention

Over the past few years, there have been notable shifts in how cities address eviction prevention:
 

• Rental Registries: Cities have increasingly adopted rental registry policies, requiring landlords to register their rental properties. By 2025, 162 cities had such policies, compared to just 84 cities in 2022. Rental registries can provide better oversight and transparency for housing markets, helping cities monitor rental conditions and intervene when needed.
• Access to Legal Representation: Legal aid is a critical part of eviction prevention, as many tenants face eviction without knowledge of their rights. Despite this, the number of cities offering programs to provide legal representation has dropped dramatically. In 2022, 37 cities had programs providing legal aid for eviction cases; by 2025, this number fell to just 11 cities.
• Fewer Programs Overall: Although eviction filings are rising, cities are offering fewer eviction prevention programs compared to the height of the pandemic. In 2022, 200 cities had implemented more than 500 active policies and programs. By 2025, with the inclusion of 200 new cities in the study, the total number of active programs was just 668 across 400 cities.

 

The Road Ahead: Addressing Funding Challenges

The findings highlight a pressing need for sustained funding to combat evictions and support housing stability. During the pandemic, many cities developed robust eviction prevention systems, but without funding, these programs are at risk of being dismantled.

Policymakers and advocates stress the importance of continuous investment in eviction prevention, both to support vulnerable families and to maintain the progress made during the pandemic.

Stable housing is vital not only for the well-being of families but also for the strength of communities. As eviction filings continue to increase in many parts of the country, cities must find ways to secure funding and implement effective policies that prevent housing insecurity for millions of Americans.

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