Eviction Court Outcomes and Access to Procedural Knowledge: Evidence From a Tenant-Focused Intervention in New Orleans

Abstract

During the legal eviction process, tenants tend to lack procedural knowledge about how courts operate and how to argue their case. Uneven access to this information tends to result in less favorable outcomes for tenants, including a mark on the tenant’s record that severely limits future housing opportunities. However, there are few—if any—quantitative studies that systematically examine the relationship between knowledge distribution and eviction case outcomes. This article focuses on the unique efforts of a New Orleans-based renters’ rights organization to contact residents facing eviction and provide them with informative resources on the eviction process. We follow the court outcomes of 267 cases, and analyze them using a quasi-experimental approach and a series of weighted logistic regressions. For tenants who were contacted, we observe a 13% reduction in the probability of receiving a rule absolute judgment than among those who were not contacted. Direct forms of contact (e.g., a telephone conversation) tend to have stronger associations with positive court outcomes than indirect forms (e.g., sending a postcard).