Housing affordability and quality impact health. Unstable housing situations increase the risk of poor health, affecting mental health and leading families to cut back on meals and postpone needed medical care. When faced with limited affordable housing options, people are sometimes forced to live in low-quality housing with possible lead exposure, poor ventilation, overcrowding, and other substandard conditions that can worsen health. Others may be forced to relocate to areas that increase their commutes or have limited access to health-supporting parks and grocery stores.

In some cases, low-income renters fall behind on rent and face eviction, which can result in homelessness, with particularly severe results. People experiencing homelessness face accelerated aging, which leads to unusually high rates of chronic illness and earlier deaths compared to the general population. Even without confronting homelessness, when faced with the threat of eviction, people are more likely to report poor health, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and psychological distress.