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Barriers to the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing Volume I: Finding and Analysis
Barriers to the Rehabilitation of Affordable Housing Volume I: Finding and Analysis
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The rehabilitation of affordable housing (hereinafter rehab or renovation) faces many barriers. It
is concerned inherently with existing, typically older buildings, making the rehab process less
predictable and in many ways more challenging than new construction.
Rehab faces a major economic barrier, namely the gap that often exists between the costs of
renovation and the financial resources available for those buildings requiring improvement. Of
the $623 billion in rehab needed nationwide—a conservative estimate—$227 billion, or about
one-third, is unaffordable without some measure of subsidy or other means of support (e.g.,
using “sweat equity” or staggering the improvements over time).
Accomplishing rehab also is a challenge. The development process can entail difficulties in
acquiring properties, estimating costs, dealing with restrictive land-use requirements (e.g.,
limitations on mixed use and adaptive reuse), and other issues. The construction phase involves
assembling qualified tradespeople and abiding by myriad codes regulating asbestos, construction,
fire safety, energy efficiency, historic preservation, lead paint, radon, and so on. Although
development and construction requirements are essential for the public’s welfare and in many
respects foster rehab efforts (e.g., historic designation often encourages upgrading), they can be
challenging. For example, trying to retrofit off-street parking in a building undergoing rehab
(sometimes mandated by land-use regulations) or ensuring that a building meets all newconstruction standards (sometimes mandated by the building code) are significant difficulties.
The rehab barriers are of a diverse nature and encompass economic constraints, professional
inadequacies, regulatory and programmatic problems, and miscellaneous other issues.
Furthermore, the specific incidence of the barriers varies by jurisdiction and project type. For
instance, the building code can be a major problem in one city where archaic provisions prevail,
but only a minor issue in a community that enjoys more flexible codes and code administrators.
The barriers to rehab are far from insurmountable. The roughly $150 billion of renovation done
annually in the United States attests to this. The public and private sectors are working together
on many fronts to resolve lingering issues. More rehab-friendly building code regulations have
been adopted in New Jersey, Maryland, and other states. Banks have become more receptive to
financing renovation. There are promising collaborations between the public sector and industry
that are improving the collection of data on rehab so that it can be better understood.
Nonetheless, many challenges remain.
is concerned inherently with existing, typically older buildings, making the rehab process less
predictable and in many ways more challenging than new construction.
Rehab faces a major economic barrier, namely the gap that often exists between the costs of
renovation and the financial resources available for those buildings requiring improvement. Of
the $623 billion in rehab needed nationwide—a conservative estimate—$227 billion, or about
one-third, is unaffordable without some measure of subsidy or other means of support (e.g.,
using “sweat equity” or staggering the improvements over time).
Accomplishing rehab also is a challenge. The development process can entail difficulties in
acquiring properties, estimating costs, dealing with restrictive land-use requirements (e.g.,
limitations on mixed use and adaptive reuse), and other issues. The construction phase involves
assembling qualified tradespeople and abiding by myriad codes regulating asbestos, construction,
fire safety, energy efficiency, historic preservation, lead paint, radon, and so on. Although
development and construction requirements are essential for the public’s welfare and in many
respects foster rehab efforts (e.g., historic designation often encourages upgrading), they can be
challenging. For example, trying to retrofit off-street parking in a building undergoing rehab
(sometimes mandated by land-use regulations) or ensuring that a building meets all newconstruction standards (sometimes mandated by the building code) are significant difficulties.
The rehab barriers are of a diverse nature and encompass economic constraints, professional
inadequacies, regulatory and programmatic problems, and miscellaneous other issues.
Furthermore, the specific incidence of the barriers varies by jurisdiction and project type. For
instance, the building code can be a major problem in one city where archaic provisions prevail,
but only a minor issue in a community that enjoys more flexible codes and code administrators.
The barriers to rehab are far from insurmountable. The roughly $150 billion of renovation done
annually in the United States attests to this. The public and private sectors are working together
on many fronts to resolve lingering issues. More rehab-friendly building code regulations have
been adopted in New Jersey, Maryland, and other states. Banks have become more receptive to
financing renovation. There are promising collaborations between the public sector and industry
that are improving the collection of data on rehab so that it can be better understood.
Nonetheless, many challenges remain.
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