Since its inception in the Housing Act of 1937, public housing has faced decades of chronic underfunding and disinvestment. The last thirty years have brought a renewed commitment to new policies and investment in this irreplaceable public asset through additional resources such as LIHTC, HOPE VI, Choice Neighborhoods, and AARPA grants and leveraged finance models in the Mixed Finance, Moving to Work, and Rental Assistance Demonstration programs. Housing Is, an organization led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities that helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes, has demonstrated over the last ten years how effective cross-sector partnerships and program alignment can better meet the needs of residents. However, the best efforts to date have fallen far short of the investments and policies needed to ensure that the portfolio is green, climate-resilient, energy efficient, and supportive of the health and well-being of its residents.   

HUD’s last capital needs assessment in 2010 found the capital needs to be $26 billion, but this estimate focused only on short-term costs to repair and replace public housing units. The 10 Year Roadmap’s preservation cost estimate takes a long-term approach by quantifying efforts to modernize units for a sustainable future. The baseline cost to preserve the nation’s public housing portfolio in 2025 dollars is $169.1 billion nationwide.

The average annual public housing capital fund appropriation is under $3 billion. Developing and implementing a 10 Year Roadmap of sustained investments and policies is imperative to preserving, revitalizing, and improving the portfolio and reversing the disparities experienced by residents.