Here’s how VCU’s RVA Eviction Lab helps Virginia tenants

By Madeline Reinsel

In 2018, researchers from Princeton University revealed that Richmond had the second-highest eviction rate among large cities nationwide. The rest of Virginia was not far behind: Five of its other cities were ranked in the top 10.

That bombshell led to the founding that year of Virginia Commonwealth University's RVA Eviction Lab. The research group is led by associate professor of urban and regional planning Ben Teresa, Ph.D., in the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, and its work has supported a variety of reforms for tenants in Richmond as well as statewide.

Now, Teresa's research has helped support expansion of the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program, which provides funding to local organizations that help people facing eviction to both pay their bills and receive assistance in eviction court. The program, first piloted in 2021, was made permanent by the General Assembly in early 2026, buoyed by years of evaluations from the RVA Eviction Lab.

"We established the record of the pilot program, who it was reaching and how it was working," Teresa said. "I think that evidence helped make the case for turning it into a permanent program."

Since the program's start in 2021, Teresa's research group has interviewed participating local organizations to find out how they spend funds and what barriers to stable housing they have identified for tenants in their area. Researchers also survey tenants who have received help from the program. The RVA Eviction Lab then shares its findings about the program, which now has a $10 million budget, to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

What sets the program apart, Teresa said, is its flexibility and ability to deliver direct financial support: "It allows these local grantee groups to really meet the needs as the households are facing these situations," he said.

Teresa has found that support from local organizations can be as varied as direct rental assistance, help navigating the court system or a $500 grant for a car repair, which could help stop a financial crisis from cascading into an eviction case.

"Each program is a little bit different in how it operates and what it offers," Teresa said. "But it's targeted at preventing evictions in the first place."

The RVA Eviction Lab found that the Virginia Eviction Reduction Program served 1,835 households in 2025, the majority of which were Black- and female-led, with more than 50% including children. The lab also found that over 90% of the people who received funding through the program remain housed.

The researchers additionally noted that local organizations receiving funds have built trust among tenants, landlords and the courts, which can reduce evictions overall. Several regions served by the program's grantees have also reported drops in eviction filings.

As the program expands, Teresa plans to keep monitoring its impacts.

"There's over $10 million now," he said of the annual budget. "So we can expect to meet a much greater need than the program was able to before."