Housing Allowances and Housing Improvement: Early Findings. Housing Assistance Supply Experiment

摘要

Prepared for the Office of Policy Development and Research, this report analyzes dwelling repairs made by homeowners, tenants, and landlords in HUD's Experimental Housing Allowance Programs in Brown County, Wis., and St. Joseph County, Ind. The preliminary analysis of the extent and type of repairs relied on data from administrative records collected during the first 3 years of the Housing Assistance Supply Experiment (HASE), with special attention given to the first 18 months of data from a special repair and improvement report form instituted in January 1976. Findings of the analysis indicate that two - thirds of the program enrollees make initial repairs to their dwellings, often at low cost, commonly doing the work themselves or enlisting friends and relatives. Despite performance by nonprofessionals, nearly all such repairs are acceptable. Repair costs, therefore, do not appear to be the major barrier to housing improvement. The hazards detected in evaluations could usually be corrected without cash assistance, but enrollees are either unaware of the problems or are unconcerned about the consequences. Even after qualifying their housing, enrollees make voluntary annual repairs to their dwellings of high visibility and consumer appeal. However, most such repairs are not responses to program standards. Members of special participant groups, including elderly and handicapped, successfully qualify their housing under program rules but increase their cash outlay by hiring professional contractors. The program demonstrates that low - income households and their landlords are able and willing to remedy housing defects if given the means and motivation. Tabular data and bibliography are provided. (Author abstract modified).