Affordable housing through the low-income housing tax credit program and intimate partner violence-related homicide

Abstract

The most severe outcome of intimate partner violence (IPV) is IPV-related homicide. Access to affordable housing may both facilitate exit from abusive relationships and reduce financial stress in intimate relationships, potentially preventing IPV-related homicide. We examined the association of the availability of rental housing through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, a federal program providing tax incentives to support the development of affordable housing, with IPV-related homicide and assessed whether this association differed by eviction rates at the state-level. We used 2005-2016 National Violent Death Reporting System, LIHTC Property, and Eviction Lab data for 13 states and compared the rate of IPV-related homicide in state-years with ≥30 to state-years with <30 LIHTC units per 100,000 population, overall and stratified by eviction rates. We conducted analyses in fall 2020. Adjusting for potential state-level confounders, the rate of IPV-related homicide in state-years with ≥30 LIHTC units per 100,000 population was lower than in state-years with <30 LIHTC units per 100,000 population (RR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.81, 0.98). The reduction in the rate of IPV-related homicide was slightly larger in state-years with higher eviction rates (≥3500 evictions per 100,000 renter population; RR = 0.83, 95% CI 0.74, 0.93) compared to state-years with lower eviction rates (<3500 evictions per 100,000 renter population; RR = 0.91, 95% CI 0.81, 1.03). Overall, at the state-level, increased availability of affordable housing through the LIHTC program was associated with lower rates of IPV-related homicide. Increasing the availability of affordable housing may be one tool for preventing IPV-related homicide.

Keywords: National Violent Death Reporting System; housing; intimate partner violence; intimate partner violnece homicide.

Fig. 1.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) related homicides by year^a in states with ≥30 vs. <30 Low Income Housing Tax Credit units per 100,000 population, 2005–2016 National Violent Death Reporting System. ^aNational Violent Death Reporting System data from Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina Virginia, Wisconsin (see Supplemental Table 1 for additional details).

Fig. 2.

Adjusted rate ratios^a comparing rates of intimate partner violence-related homicide in states with ≥30 vs. <30 Low Income Housing Tax Credit units per 100,000 population, 2005–2016. ^aAdjusted for annual state percent population by race/ethnicity, percent population unemployed, median household income, Medicaid expansion status, minimum wage, number of restrictive firearm laws, and number of violent crimes per 100,000 population. ^bNational Violent Death Reporting System data for N = 6,351 intimate partner violence-related homicides from Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina Virginia, Wisconsin (see Supplemental Table 1 for additional details).

Fig. 3.

Adjusted rate ratios^a comparing rates of intimate partner violence-related homicide^b in states with ≥30 vs. <30 Low Income Housing Tax Credit units per 100,000 population stratified by state eviction rates, 2005–2016. ^aAdjusted for annual state percent population by race/ethnicity, percent population unemployed, median household income, Medicaid expansion status, minimum wage, number of restrictive firearm laws, and number of violent crimes per 100,000 population. ^bNational Violent Death Reporting System data for N = 6,351 intimate partner violence-related homicides from Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina Virginia, Wisconsin (see Supplemental Table 1 for additional details).