Take Me Home: Housing Insecurity and Transactional Ties among Poor Families

Guided by scholarship on housing insecurity and the survival strategies of poor families, this study examines how impoverished families navigate and assess appropriate responses to housing insecurity in the private rental market. Drawing on interviews with 100 low-income families across Israel, the study finds that families construct rental housing as a chief source of subjugation, instability, and emotional distress. Poor families often draw on their relationships with their landlords to survive conditions of housing insecurity. I term this strategy leveraging “transactional ties.” The concept emphasizes economic relationships between destitute families and advantaged actors in various market arenas. Families are subjugated by these well-positioned actors; nevertheless, they are sometimes able to negotiate a better deal for themselves. By emphasizing the importance of how renters construct transactional ties with powerful actors, the article contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of housing insecurity among disadvantaged populations today.