A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Page 1 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

October 2020

By Ryan Ruggiero

, Josh Rivera

, and Patrick Cooney

This paper is available online at the Poverty Solutions Research Publications index at:

poverty.umich.edu/publications/working papers

Any opinions, findings, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not

necessarily reflect the view of Poverty Solutions or any sponsoring agency.

Ryan Ruggiero served as the lead researcher and author of this report while a graduate student at U-M. She is

currently a research analyst at Mathematica, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Josh Rivera was formerly the senior data and policy advisor at Poverty Solutions and currently serves as the policy

director for the economic stability administration at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

Patrick Cooney is the assistant director of the Detroit Partnership on Economic Mobility at Poverty Solutions.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to the following organizations for providing information included in this report and for your

work in helping to promote access to home repair resources:

Bridging Communities

Brick + Beam

Central Detroit Christian

City of Detroit

CLEARCorps

Cody Rouge Community Action Alliance

Detroit Area Agency on Aging

Detroit Action Commonwealth

Detroit Block Works

Detroit Disability Power

Detroit Future City

Detroit Land Bank Authority

DTE Energy

Ehm Senior Solutions

Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis

Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation

Habitat for Humanity

Jefferson East Inc.

Life Remodeled

LISC

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

Michigan Saves

Michigan State Housing and Development Authority

Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan

Rippling Hope

SER Metro

U-SNAP-BAC

United Community Housing Coalition

Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency

The authors would also like to thank Eric Dueweke and Karen Otzen for helping us navigate Detroit’s

home repair ecosystem and Margaret Dewar and Paula Fomby for their comments and consultation.

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 4

METHODS ................................................................................................................................................... 5

FINDINGS .................................................................................................................................................... 6

Housing quality and economic mobility ................................................................................................... 6

The cost of inaction on housing quality ................................................................................................ 6

Housing quality and racial disparities in the United States ................................................................... 7

Measuring Inadequate Housing in Detroit MSA ...................................................................................... 9

Racial disparities in housing quality persist in Metro Detroit ............................................................. 11

Estimating Housing Inadequacy and Repair Needs in Detroit ................................................................ 13

The State of Detroit's Home Repair Market ............................................................................................ 16

What home repair programs are available to Detroit residents? ......................................................... 16

Understanding loan programs ............................................................................................................. 17

Understanding grant programs ............................................................................................................ 18

Understanding weatherization and energy programs .......................................................................... 19

Understanding volunteer programs ..................................................................................................... 19

How are home repair programs being used? ....................................................................................... 20

How do other cities prioritize home repair? ........................................................................................ 21

Practitioner perspectives: Home Repair in Detroit ................................................................................. 23

Gaps in the Home Repair Ecosystem .................................................................................................. 24

Moving Forward: Policy Options ............................................................................................................... 31

Enhancing Existing Programs ................................................................................................................. 32

Provide a toolkit of home repair services to organizations and residents ........................................... 32

Offer multiple funding options for different income groups .............................................................. 32

Integrate lead abatement grants into health and safety repairs ........................................................... 32

Universal healthy home assessments for all programs and shared database ....................................... 32

Address home health & accessibility goals to assist aging-in-place residents .................................... 33

Provide technical assistance for home repair projects ........................................................................ 33

Funding for small landlords to improve rental housing conditions .................................................... 33

Learning from Peer Practices .................................................................................................................. 33

Align resources and promote cross-sector collaboration .................................................................... 33

Use real estate transfer taxes to fund state housing trust fund ............................................................ 34

Establish a housing resource center to leverage city funds ................................................................. 34

Prioritize low-income, longtime Detroiters in the redevelopment of homes ...................................... 34

Linking healthy housing initiatives and workforce development ....................................................... 34

Encourage savings and financial literacy to improve credit scores .................................................... 35

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CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................... 35

LIMITATIONS ........................................................................................................................................... 36

Appendix Table 1: Population and Economic Characteristics of the Nation, Detroit, and the Detroit

Metropolitan Statistical Area ...................................................................................................................... 37

Appendix 2: Detroit Home Repair Ecosystem Map 2018 .......................................................................... 38

REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................... 38

INTRODUCTION

“Home repairs not only help that family; it helps the whole block. If people see work

happening, it may encourage additional investment into your property. It’s an easy

way to stabilize the community.”

- Construction manager, community-based organization

In 1945, President Truman told Congress, “A decent standard of housing for all is one of the irreducible

obligations of modern civilization.”

Seventy years later, this ideal of a decent home for every American

has still not been achieved, with nearly 6 million homes in the U.S. deemed inadequate.

Though

Truman’s words were lofty, federal policies at the time only sought to extend this “irreducible obligation”

to white Americans, and racial disparities in housing quality today are large and persistent.

Home repair programs can serve as a critical tool to support housing stability and promote racial equity,

particularly in Rust Belt cities with an aging housing stock and large populations of Black residents who

have consistently faced structural racism in the U.S. housing system.

In Detroit, a mostly Black city, old

housing stock coupled with high poverty rates and an aging population intensifies demand for home

repair and home accessibility modifications. As we explore in this report, however, current home repair

efforts cannot meet this demand. Fixing this gap has taken on new urgency as the COVID-19 pandemic

has underscored the importance of housing stability and the connection between housing and health

outcomes.

This report examines the current state of the home repair ecosystem in Detroit, identifies potential gaps

in the system, and provides a scan of promising practices in cities across the Midwest. A central finding

of our analysis, however, is that reforms to existing programs will not be enough to meet the needs of

Detroit residents. To truly meet the needs of a city faced with old homes and low incomes, more

resources are needed.

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METHODS

In summer 2019, Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan interviewed 22 individuals from

community-based organizations who administer or interact with the home repair programs in Detroit

to better understand the city’s home repair ecosystem. Sixteen of these organizations also responded

to a survey assessing satisfaction with existing home repair programs.

Seven of the organizations interviewed help administer the largest loan-based home repair program in

Detroit, the City of Detroit’s 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Program, an effort by the city and local

banks to extend credit to low-income Detroit households. Organizations that administer the 0%

Interest Home Repair Loan Program are known as “Intake Centers” throughout the city and include:

● U-SNAP-BAC

● Bridging Communities

● SER Metro Detroit

● Jefferson East Inc.

● Central Detroit Christian

● Wayne Metro Community Action

● Cody Rogue Community Action Alliance

Poverty Solutions also used information from online searches, word of mouth, and snowball sampling

methods —where research participants recruit other participants — to identify additional organizations

involved in the home repair ecosystem. These organizations — in addition to the seven intake centers

listed above — include Detroit Future City, Detroit Action Commonwealth, CLEARCorps, LISC, United

Community Housing Coalition, Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, Brick + Beam, Rippling

Hope, Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan, Ehm Senior Solutions, Detroit Disability Power,

Detroit Block Works, Habitat for Humanity, the Detroit Land Bank Authority, and Metro In-Home

Solutions. As a result of this data gathering effort, Poverty Solutions developed a home repair

ecosystem map, including the total funds expended and households reached in 2018. Additional

organizations identified, but not interviewed, are included in the ecosystem map (Appendix 2).

In addition to the interviews, Poverty Solutions conducted two supplemental forms of analysis. First,

we analyzed data on housing quality in the Detroit metropolitan statistical area from the American

Housing Survey (AHS), which is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development

(HUD) and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in select metropolitan areas every two years. The

survey is the most comprehensive national housing survey in the United States and offers estimates of

housing conditions throughout the country.

Finally, we conducted a scan of home repair programs in peer cities in the Midwest to gain a better

understanding of the types of innovative programs and financial products that are extending capital to

low-income households and to see what lessons can be learned from these programs.

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FINDINGS

Housing quality and economic mobility

The cost of inaction on housing quality

Healthy and safe homes promote healthy and safe families and communities. As such, the work of

home repair and remediation ensures families can thrive. Removing lead paint allows children to live in

a healthy environment. Accessibility modifications can help seniors age in place with dignity and

autonomy. The inverse is also true. Numerous studies have found that poor dwelling spaces can

severely impact health in ways that diminish quality of life, increase the risk of diseases, and promote

distress.

For example, research has shown:

● Housing and physical health are strongly correlated. The cumulative health effects of

substandard housing quality can lead to lifelong declines in health. Studies find dwelling spaces

that are damp, cold, and toxic (i.e. lead and mold exposure) increase the risk of tuberculosis,

recurrent headaches, sore throat, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, and lung cancer.

● Housing conditions also affect mental health. Poor housing quality such as leaky roofs, broken

windows, and pest infestation is a stronger predictor of emotional and behavioral problems in low-

income children than residential instability (defined as moving often), high housing costs, home

ownership, and receipt of a housing subsidy.

For adults, poor housing conditions may be

associated with anxiety, depression, and social isolation.

● Inadequate housing exacerbates chronic disease, particularly among children. Home

environmental factors such as water leaks, poor ventilation, and pest infestation are also associated

with poor health outcomes including asthma, the most common chronic disease among children.

Children with asthma are more likely to miss school than their peers, missing 2.48 more school days

each year.

● Seniors living in houses with inadequate heat are vulnerable. Seniors living in cold environments

face increased respiratory problems, which have been associated with increased mortality.

Taken together, there is strong evidence that substandard housing leads to adverse effects on multiple

dimensions of physical and mental health and well-being. In the United States, 1.2 million children have

lead poisoning, asthma is linked to 10% of all emergency room visits, and 3,645 people died in house

fires in 2017.

These effects also spill over in ways that produce tremendous costs on society.

In turn, the public expense of dealing with inadequate housing is substantial. Faced with blighted and

inadequate housing, governments:

● must enforce penalties against homeowners who maintain inadequate dwelling conditions;

● use tax dollars to tear down dilapidated homes;

● provide public benefits to address the negative health outcomes that result from housing

insecurity;

● lose tax revenue due to declining property values;

● lose future earnings from individuals injured or sick due to home condition;

● and pay long-term medical costs associated with disease.

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The significant public cost of inadequate housing underscores the idea that home repair is not solely an

issue for homeowners, but an issue that commands public action.

Housing quality and racial disparities in the United States

While progress has been made to secure safe and healthy homes in the U.S., significant challenges

remain. As shown in Figure 1, the share of renter units facing moderate or severe physical issues

declined from 9.9% to 7.5% from 2011 to 2017.

Meanwhile, the share of owner-occupied units facing

physical issues has remained flat at roughly 3.5% over that time period. Despite these improvements,

as of 2017, nearly 6 million homes in the U.S were deemed inadequate by the AHS, meaning the home

faced physical problems related to maintenance, electrical wiring, heating, or plumbing.

Although not captured by the AHS, according to a report by the Center for American Progress, 24

million housing units in the U.S. face lead-based paint hazards, 17 million homes face heightened

exposure to indoor allergens, and 6.8 million homes have elevated levels of radon, a radioactive gas

that is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the U.S.

Low-income renters, and particularly low-

income renters living in central cities, are far more likely than others to live in poor dwelling

conditions.

The rate at which Americans occupy inadequate households also varies by race. In 2017, Black

households occupied inadequate housing units at a rate of 7%, compared to a rate of 4% for white

households. In Metro Detroit, 11% of Black households live in inadequate housing, compared to just 3%

of white households.

Racial disparities in housing have persisted for decades, the result of government policies, programs,

and inaction that have prevented many Black Americans from securing safe, stable, and affordable

housing, and building wealth.

In The Color of Law, Richard Rothstein outlines the chain of events that

has led to the racial disparities in housing we see today.

From the 1930s through the 1960s, the

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) sparked a homeownership boom in the United States by insuring

and issuing mortgages at favorable terms to white working-class families, enabling them to purchase a

home for the first time.

Through means both implicit and explicit, the FHA denied Black Americans

this same treatment. Of the $120 billion in new housing construction loans underwritten by the FHA

between 1934 and 1962, only 2% went to non-white families.

Lacking access to these low-risk

mortgages, Black families were left to purchase homes using predatory land contracts, which carried

with them high interest rates, a high risk of eviction, and no legal protections, often resulting in a loss of

household wealth.

Through the mid-20

century, discrimination in labor markets and unions reduced

earnings for Black Americans.

At the same time, home values rose substantially, making

homeownership – particularly in the suburbs – unattainable for many working class Black families by

the time the Fair Housing Act passed in the late 1960s.

From the passage of the Fair Housing Act through 2000, we see some signs of improved housing

stability for Black households, such as a six percentage point increase in rates of Black

homeownership.

However, these gains were soon lost, due to the disproportionate harm Black

homeowners suffered from the subprime mortgage crisis in the late 2000s, which erased those gains in

homeownership, and decimated the wealth of Black households.

Detroit’s property tax foreclosure

crisis in the years immediately following the mortgage foreclosure crisis magnified those losses.

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In sum, Black Americans have not had the same opportunities to secure housing, have had to pay more

for housing, have had fewer choices for housing, and – due to discrimination in both housing and

employment – have had less income with which to procure housing and make repairs. We pay

particularly close attention to gaps in housing adequacy by race in this report because the initial and

substantial support government offered to white Americans in their pursuit of safe and stable housing,

but denied Black Americans, has never been redressed. And though home repair programs are an

inadequate tool to rectify the harms done, it is one area in which we can act quickly to support

homeownership and housing stability for low- and moderate-income Black households.

Figure 1 - National Housing Quality, 2011-2017

The fraction of homes deemed moderate and severely inadequate

(Source: American Housing Survey)

Defining inadequate housing

The American Housing Survey (AHS) is sponsored by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

and conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau in select metropolitan areas every two years.

HUD developed the AHS in 1973 to assess the quality of housing stock and its characteristics in response to Title V

of the 1970 Housing Act.

In addition to providing detailed information about the quality of housing units in select

metropolitan areas, the AHS also categorizes housing units as severely inadequate, moderately inadequate or

adequate. Though the AHS provides one measure of housing inadequacy, it fails to capture many housing issues

that are important for policymakers to consider, such as home accessibility.

There are two methods for defining a unit as severely inadequate or moderately inadequate.

Severely Inadequate Method 1: The unit meets one of the following four conditions: (1) no electricity used, (2)

exposed wiring without working electrical plugs in every room and the fuses were blown more than twice in the

last three months, (3) unit was cold for 24 hours or more and the heating equipment broke down more than twice,

lasting longer than six hours, or (4) unit has one of the following bathroom problems: no hot and cold running

water, no full bathroom, shared plumbing facilities with occupants of another housing unit.

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Severely Inadequate Method 2: The unit meets five of the following six conditions: (1) outside water leaks in the

last 12 months, (2) inside water leaks in the last 12 months, (3) holes in the floor, (4) open cracks wider than a

dime, (5) area of peeling paint larger than 8x11, or (6) rats seen in the unit in the last 12 months.

Moderately Inadequate Method 1: The unit has three or four of the conditions listed in “Severely Inadequate

Method 2” but has not been designated as Severely Inadequate using Method 1.

Moderately Inadequate Method 2: The unit meets one of the following three conditions: (1) more than two toilet

breakdowns in the last three months lasting longer than six hours; (2) the main heating equipment is unvented

room heaters burning kerosene, gas, or oil; or (3) unit meets one of the four kitchen conditions: no kitchen sink, no

working refrigerator, no working cooking equipment, or unit does not have exclusive use of kitchen.

For the purposes of this report, a unit is referred to as inadequate if it is categorized as severely inadequate or

moderately inadequate.

Measuring Inadequate Housing in Detroit MSA

Although the focus of this report is the city of Detroit, the AHS only provides data at the metro-level for

select cities. The trends in housing quality in Detroit’s six-county Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA)

mirror what is occurring nationally: marked improvements alongside persistent disparities. From 2015

to 2017, the share of severely and moderately inadequate homes in the Detroit MSA fell from 101,200

units to 84,600 units. In total, around 5% of occupied housing units in the Detroit metro area are

considered inadequate, which mirrors the national rate.

However, housing inadequacy is more widespread among very low-income metro Detroit residents

(annual household income less than $20,000) than in peer cities, with 10% of very low-income

households – roughly 32,000 households – living in inadequate housing (Figure 2).

When compared to other metro areas surveyed in the AHS, Detroit stands out for facing higher rates of

moderate and severely inadequate housing for very low-income households. In Washington, D.C.,

Atlanta, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Chicago, inadequate housing affects fewer than 8% of low-income

households. The highest rates of inadequate housing are in Philadelphia (9.5%) and Detroit (10%).

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Figure 2 – Inadequate Housing for Very Low-Income Households Varies by Metro, 2017

The fraction of homes deemed moderate and severely inadequate by metro area for households with less than

$20,000 annual household income

(Source: American Housing Survey)

What is the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical (Detroit MSA) area?

The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn Metropolitan Statistical Area

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A Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is a geographic boundary delineated by the federal government for the

purposes of publishing statistical data. MSAs represent a “core area containing a substantial population nucleus,

together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration within that core.”

The data presented in this report from the American Housing Survey represents the Detroit-Dearborn-Warren

MSA. Estimates for the Detroit MSA likely differ from housing conditions in Detroit. For example, Detroit has a

lower median income, a higher percentage of households living in poverty, and an older housing stock than the

wider Detroit MSA (Appendix Table 1). Despite these differences, understanding inadequate housing at the MSA

level provides useful information on the scale of housing inadequacy in the region, quantifies the most common

types of housing issues, and provides insight into housing quality disparities by race and income.

Racial disparities in housing quality persist in Metro Detroit

Among all households in the Detroit metro area, Black households face the highest rates of inadequate

housing. In Metro Detroit, 10.9% of Black households live in inadequate housing compared to less than

2.8% of white households (Figure 3). If we look only at very low-income households (defined as

households earning less than $30,000 annually), the share of Black households living in inadequate

housing increases to 14.8%, while the share of white households increases to 5.4%, still roughly half the

rate for all Black households regardless of income. Again, this is a reflection of the extent to which

Black households have, for decades, experienced racial discrimination in housing and employment

markets that have pushed them into older housing stock, hampered wealth creation, and reduced

incomes.

In addition, renters are approximately twice as likely to live in inadequate housing as owners, regardless

of race. This is important for Detroit, as the city has shifted from a majority-owner city to a majority-

renter city over the past 15 years, owing in large part to the city’s twin foreclosure crises.

Figure 3 – Detroit Metro Housing Quality, Select Population Groups, 2017

The fraction of homes deemed moderate and severely inadequate for occupied units

(Source: American Housing Survey)

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The most common housing quality issues facing Metro Detroit residents include inadequate heating,

exterior water leaks, signs of mice or rats, and weak foundations (Table 1).

● Heating issues: Nearly 15% of all occupied units, or 253,400 units, reported being uncomfortably

cold for 24 hours or more. Some of the reasons why occupied units reported cold temperatures

included utility interruptions, equipment breakdowns, and inadequate insulation.

● Water leakage issues: Twelve percent of all occupied units or 206,600 units reported a water

leakage from the outside, with slightly more basement leaks than roof leaks.

Table 1 – Selected Types of Housing Quality Issues in the Detroit Metro, 2017

Estimates are in thousands of housing units (Source: American Housing Survey)

Characteristics

Total Occupied Housing Units

1,723

100%

Severely Inadequate

22.4

1.3%

Moderately Inadequate

62.2

3.6%

Severely and Moderately Inadequate

84.6

4.9%

Selected Deficiencies

Uncomfortably cold for 24 hours or more 253.4 14.7%

Water leakage from outside structure

206.6

12.0%

Water leakage from inside structure

154.5

9.0%

Electrical fuses or circuit breakers blown in last 3

months

154.3 9.0%

Signs of mice or rats inside the home in the

last 12 months

153.8 8.9%

Foundation crumbling

105

6.1%

Open cracks or holes (interior)

96.1

5.6%

Missing roofing material

74.4

4.3%

Broken windows

3.9%

Missing bricks, siding, or other outside wall material

55.9

3.2%

Broken plaster or peeling paint (interior)

52.5

3.0%

Sewage disposal breakdown(s) in last 3

months

42.2 3.0%

Water stoppage in last 3 months

42.3

2.5%

Exposed wiring

34.4

2.0%

Signs of cockroaches in last 12 months

30.4

1.8%

No toilet working sometime in the

last 3 months

25.6 1.5%

Rooms without electric outlets

19.6

1.1%

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Estimating Housing Inadequacy and Repair Needs in Detroit

Understanding the magnitude and distribution of home repair needs in Detroit is important to

developing appropriate policy solutions. Yet, the primary source of information on housing adequacy in

the U.S., the American Housing Survey, only provides statistics at the national level and for select

metropolitan areas. This means statistics on housing quality for cities, like Detroit, need to be collected

locally or otherwise estimated.

Here, we briefly review what we know about housing quality in Detroit and then use estimates on the

incidence of housing inadequacy in the Detroit metropolitan area to derive an estimate of inadequate

units in Detroit under two scenarios. First, we assume Detroit faces the same housing inadequacy rate

as the Detroit metro area to produce a conservative lower-bound for the number of inadequate homes.

Then, because we see such stark disparities in housing inadequacy by race, and acknowledging our

country’s long history of racial discrimination in housing, we apply the inadequacy rates at the metro

level by race to Detroit’s racial composition to generate an alternative estimate.

Over the past decade, several ambitious efforts to collect local data have shed light on property

conditions in the city. For example, in 2009 the Detroit Data Collaborative, a joint effort of the Detroit

Office of Foreclosure Prevention and Response (FPR), Community Legal Resources (CLR) (now

Michigan Community Resources), and Data Driven Detroit (D3), surveyed the exterior of every

residential property in Detroit. The collaborative found 92% of Detroit’s occupied housing structures

were in good condition, meaning the building needed no more than two minor repairs.

Another 7%

were in fair condition meaning the buildings were structurally sound, but with some damage that could

be rehabilitated. Only 1% were in poor condition, defined as not structurally sound with major repairs

needed. According to the collaborative, these results pointed to the strength of many Detroit

neighborhoods, despite accelerating vacancy and widespread housing distress. However, this effort

only surveyed structures’ exterior conditions, and therefore would not reveal repair needs inside the

home, which make up the bulk of housing quality issues.

In 2013, another parcel survey effort called Motor City Mapping collected data on property conditions

that informed the blight removal policy recommendations of the Detroit Blight Removal Task Force.

Results from Motor City Mapping found that 30% of all residential structures in the city demonstrated

some form of blight, but the effort told us very little about repair needs in occupied structures.

While other efforts to understand the status of Detroit’s homes have occurred since Motor City

Mapping, in our search of data sources, we did not find estimates of housing adequacy for every

occupied residential property in the city. In addition, while previous efforts assessed the conditions of

Detroit housing structures based on exterior appearance, many of the major home repairs residents

face (e.g. furnace problems, leaking roofs, poor insulation, interior lead paint, plumbing disrepair,

electrical needs), cannot be assessed through a “windshield survey,” but would require a either a home

assessment or resident interviews.

Lacking those sources, we apply inadequacy estimates for metro Detroit to the city of Detroit in two

ways in order to generate city-level estimates. As shown in Table 2, there are 264,360 occupied housing

units in Detroit.

A majority, or 140,264, of those units are renter-occupied units and the remainder are

owner-occupied units.

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To generate our first estimate of inadequate units, we apply the rate of inadequate housing for Detroit

metro to the city of Detroit. This estimate can be thought of as a conservative lower-bound of how

many Detroit homes might be inadequate, as the socioeconomic characteristics and housing stock of

Detroit differ greatly from that of the metro region. Under this conservative method, we estimate there

are 15,252 occupied housing units that are moderately or severely inadequate in Detroit, with rental

units making up 10,660 of the total.

As noted, however, the city of Detroit is dissimilar from the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) on

important dimensions. Detroit’s housing stock is older and median household incomes are lower,

suggesting that Detroit homes might need more and costlier repairs and residents have lower incomes

to address them (Appendix Table 1). In addition, data from the American Housing Survey make clear

that Black households (both homeowner and renter) are far more likely than white households to live in

inadequate housing, likely a result of decades of discrimination in housing and employment markets

that have pushed Black households into substandard housing and left Black households with fewer

resources.

As the share of Black households in Detroit is far greater than the share of Black

households throughout the MSA (Detroit is 79% Black while the MSA is 22% Black), we would expect

this to be reflected in the share of inadequate homes in Detroit.

Therefore, in Table 3, we attempt to account for differences between Detroit and the Detroit metro

area by looking at inadequacy by race.

We find that once accounting for race, the estimated number

of inadequate and severely inadequate homes jumps up to 24,119 with a majority of those homes being

renter occupied (15,682). Taking into account the margin of error on the estimate, the total number of

severe and moderately inadequate units ranges from 14,825 to 33,413.

There is reason to believe that this may also be an underestimate of the overall home repair need in

Detroit. From 2005 to 2015, Detroit experienced twin foreclosure crises, during which 120,000

properties in the city went through either mortgage or tax foreclosure.

These foreclosed homes were

largely purchased by investors, many of whom failed to invest in their properties while charging high

rents, seeking to “milk” the property for profit, quickly evicting tenants for nonpayment, and often

letting the property fall back into tax foreclosure.

This mass transfer of properties to speculative

ownership has likely contributed to further disrepair in the city’s housing stock. Indeed, investigative

reports have identified a pattern of eviction and disrepair in Detroit’s rental housing stock, prompting

the City of Detroit to broaden its enforcement of the city’s rental ordinance.

In other words, while we

would expect the city’s housing repair needs to be far greater than the metro area overall due to the

age of the housing stock and low average incomes, the fallout from the city’s twin foreclosure crises

likely exacerbated these needs to a great degree.

Table 2 –Estimating home adequacy and repair needs in Detroit, 2017

Total Owner Renter

Housing Stock

Number of occupied housing units in Detroit *

264,360 124,096 140,264

Housing Inadequacy

Share of occupied housing units that are severely & moderately

inadequate in the Detroit Metro**

4.90% 3.70% 7.60%

Confidence level of 95%

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Percent severely inadequate occupied housing units alone

1.30% 0.90% 2.10%

Percent moderately inadequate occupied housing units alone

3.60% 2.80% 5.50%

Number of severely and moderately inadequate housing units in

Detroit assuming Detroit Metro rate

15,252 4,592 10,660

Number of severely inadequate occupied housing units in Detroit

assuming Detroit Metro rate

4,062 1,117 2,946

Number of moderately inadequate occupied housing units in Detroit

assuming Detroit Metro rate

11,189 3,475 7,715

Table 3: Estimating home adequacy and repair needs in Detroit by Race, 2017

Owner

Renter

Total Occupied Units

Housing Stock

Black occupied

95,976

114,599

210,575

White occupied

21,764

18,470

40,234

Other race occupied

6,356

7,195

13,551

Total Occupied Units in Detroit city

124,096

140,264

264,360

Housing Inadequacy Rates

Black occupied Adequate

91.84%

86.28%

Range based on margin of error

(88.01%-95.66%)

(82.46%-91.19%)

Black occupied Inadequate

8.16%

13.18%

Range based on margin of error (4.34%-11.99%) (8.81%-17.54%)

White occupied Adequate

97.24%

96.85%

Range based on margin of error

(96.19%-98.28%)

(94.71%-99.00%)

White occupied Inadequate

2.76%

3.15%

Range based on margin of error

(1.72%-3.81%)

(1.00%-5.29%)

Number of adequate and inadequate (severely & moderately inadequate) housing units

Black occupied Inadequate

7,836 15,101 22,997

Range based on margin of error

(4,168-11,504)

(10,099-20,103)

(14,267-31,607)

White occupied Inadequate

601

581

1,182

Range based on margin of error

(374-829)

(185-977)

(559-1,806)

Estimated Total Black & White Occupied Inadequate Households

8,437

15,682

24,119

Range based on margin of error

(4,542-12,333)

(10,284-21,080)

(14,825-33,413)

(Source:*=American Community Survey, **=American Housing Survey, Note: Margins of errors in parenthesis).

Page 16 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

The State of Detroit's Home Repair Market

Homeownership has the potential to be a viable pathway to stable, affordable housing for low-income

households, particularly in a city like Detroit with plentiful inexpensive housing stock. However, many

low-income families struggle with the cost of owning and maintaining a home. One study found 1 in 4

low-income homeowners were at risk of losing their home due to being late on debt repayment after

just two years.

The study also found the cost of home repair was the greatest challenge faced by low-

income families after purchasing the home, with nearly 1 in 6 confronting a repair they could not

afford.

These challenges are more pronounced for Black and Hispanic homebuyers, who are more

likely to buy homes considered moderately or severely inadequate by the AHS.

Although national homeownership rates for Black and Hispanic Americans have increased over the past

several decades, they still lag behind homeownership rates of white Americans. In 1940, the

homeownership rate of Black Americans was approximately 23% , compared to 46% for white

households.

Nearly 80 years later, in 2017, Black Americans owned their homes at a rate of 46%, the

same homeownership rate as white households in 1940, while the white homeownership rate had risen

to 72%.

Studies show that even after controlling for demographic characteristics such as education,

income, and marital status, white Americans continue to have higher homeownership rates than Black

Americans

If we hope to realize the potential benefits of homeownership for low-income households, and low-

income Black households in particular, access to home repair resources is a critical part of the equation.

To place home repair in a local context and to understand the resources available to low-income

families, we first established a list of home repair programs available to Detroit residents and then

conducted extensive research on these programs and how they function. This included web searches,

interviews with home repair administrators, and conversations with government officials, nonprofits,

and Detroit residents. We contacted over 60 organizations to determine if they administered a home

repair program, and published information found from 25 home repair programs in our

2019 Detroit

Home Repair Resource Guide. To calculate the total home repair funding issued to Detroit residents

and the number of households reached in 2018, we requested data from all identified organizations

offering home repair programs including city, state, and federal agencies. We also included

weatherization and energy program funding, which can improve household heating conditions and

reduce utility costs. Please see our Home Repair Ecosystem Map (Appendix 2), which provides funding

streams and breakdowns of estimated households reached and dollars spent by each program in 2018.

What home repair programs are available to Detroit residents?

We find Detroit city residents received an estimated $15,842,205 in funding in 2018 for residential

home repair, reaching an estimated 2,943 housing units.

All estimates listed in this section are for the

city of Detroit, unless otherwise noted, and all programs except one are available exclusively to owners

who occupy their residence, leaving renters with few to no options for accessing funds for home

repairs.

To our knowledge, the only home repair program available to renters is the City of Detroit’s Lead Abatement

program.

Page 17 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

We separated the funding into four categories:

(1) loans, (2) grants (3) weatherization/energy, and (4)

volunteer community-based organizations.

The totals shown in Table 3 represent our best estimate of the home repair funding issued to Detroit

residents and households reached in 2018.

● Loans: Three programs provided an estimated $2,760,770 in the form of home repair loans,

reaching 175 households.

● Grants: Nine programs provided an estimated $6,649,221 in grant funding, reaching 771

households.

● Weatherization & Energy: Four programs provided an additional $6,432,214 specifically for

weatherization and energy projects that mainly included furnace replacement or repair, reaching an

estimated 1,623 households.

o Three of the four weatherization and energy programs are provided as grants to

households, and one provides inspections and equipment. These programs are restricted to

weatherization and energy improvements and do not fund other critical repairs such as roof

repair.

● Volunteer community-based organizations: A confirmed 10 community-based organizations

utilized volunteers and donations to reach approximately 374 households, mostly focusing on minor

home repairs such as painting, yard work, and beautification. The estimated donations received for

these programs was not reported.

Table 4 – Home repair funding by category for 2018

Funding Type

Dollars Spent

% of Total Dollars

Units Reached

% of Total Units

Loan

$2,760,770

17%

175

Grant

$6,649,221

42%

771

26%

Weatherization

$6,432,214

41%

1,623

55%

Community-based

organizations

Not reported - 374 13%

2018 Totals

$15,842,205

100%

2,943

100%

Note: The MI Saves Home Energy Loan Program is included in the “Loan” funding type, even though the funding is primarily for energy related

improvements, because it is administered as a loan.

Understanding loan programs

Poverty Solutions confirmed a total of three loan programs provided 175 home repair loans to Detroit

residents in 2018, totaling $2,760,771.

● Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s (MSHDA) Property Improvement Program (PIP)

issued two loans totaling $18,329.

Note that this analysis is only taking into account home repair loans designed to serve low- and middle-income

homeowners who may struggle to access other forms of capital due to high debt-to-income ratios or sub-prime credit

scores. It therefore does not include traditional home repair loans or home equity lines of credit offered by

commercial banks.

Page 18 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

● Michigan Saves’ Home Energy Loan Program issued 78 loans totaling $679,531.

● The City of Detroit’s 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Program issued 95 loans totaling $2,062,911.

More information regarding the distribution of loans by household income is provided in a

subsequent section.

Credit scores and loan programs

Loan programs offered by MSHDA, Michigan Saves, and Liberty Bank — which advertises a home

repair loan on its website but would not confirm lending data in 2018 — all require credit scores in the

600s, with interest rates starting at 4%, which are potentially limiting factors for low-income families. In

addition, these programs are restricted to certain geographies and eligible repairs, and, in the case of

MSHDA’s PIP program, extremely limited in scope. The PIP program, which issues home repair loans of

up to $25,000 with interest rates of 4%-8% depending on income, issued only two loans in Detroit in

2018, totaling $18,329. Better utilization of this program, which has a loan repayment period of 20

years and is available to households with annual incomes up to $105,700, could provide needed home

repair funds to higher-income households in Detroit who may lack access to other home repair capital.

The City of Detroit’s 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program seeks to correct for the deficiencies of

these other programs. The program is available to those with a credit score above 560, more than 120

points below “prime” — a critical factor in a city where the median credit score is 552

— and can be

used on a range of potential repairs.

However, while the program aims to target a credit-constrained population, the average credit score of

approved applicants is 727, suggesting that other program requirements are preventing those with

lower credit scores from accessing the program.

Still, the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan approved

$2,062,911 in loans in 2018, representing an estimated 75% of the total home repair loans in Detroit

analyzed in this paper.

Understanding grant programs

A confirmed total of nine grant programs provided an estimated $6,649,221 in funding to 771 homes for

home repair and accessibility projects in Detroit in 2018. A description of the largest home repair grant

programs available to Detroit residents who meet eligibility requirements is below.

● The City of Detroit’s Lead Hazard Control Program is by far the largest home repair grant program

in Detroit, expending $3,327,691 in funds in 2018 and accounting for half of all home repair grant

dollars that year. The program reached 76 homes, for an average expenditure of $43,785 per home.

o The program is only available to income-eligible households with children under 6 and

pregnant women.

o Two of the 76 homes receiving services were through ChildHelp, which assists rental units

with lead abatement repairs.

o Although the program’s focus is on lead abatement, the program provided additional

health and safety repairs including roof repairs, window replacement, and porch repair.

o The majority of the Lead Hazard Control Program funding (74%) comes from Community

Development Block Grant Dollars (CDBG) from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD), and the remainder comes from the state of Michigan.

Page 19 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

● The Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis’s (FHBLI) Neighborhood Improvement Program (NIP)

provided a total of $530,560 in grants to 76 homes in 2018 for home repairs up to $7,500 related to

repair or replacement of windows, siding, roof, exterior doors, and water heaters.

● MSHDA’s State Emergency Relief (SER) program provided $70,307 in non-energy grants for hot

water heater replacement, and roof, door, and window repairs to 67 homes throughout Wayne

County in 2018. This program has a lifetime maximum grant amount of $1,500 per household. This

program was unable to provide Detroit city estimates.

Grants for improving home accessibility

In addition to the programs above, four grant programs focused specifically on home accessibility.

These programs expended $2,654,919 in 2018, representing approximately 40% of all grant dollars,

although a portion of the Accessibility Modification Program from the Federal Home Loan Bank of

Indianapolis (FHLBI) and the City of Detroit’s Senior Emergency Program can also be used for approved

non-accessibility repairs, including roof repair.

● Detroit Area on Aging’s MI Choice Waiver program, a Medicaid program for MI Choice Waiver

enrollees in Detroit, Highland Park, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, and the five Grosse Pointes,

reached an estimated 468 households expending $1,492,608, the most funding one program spent

on home accessibility modifications.

● The city’s Senior Emergency Program provided $545,182 in repairs to 22 homes and is available for

seniors and people living with a disability over age 55.

● FHLBI’s Accessibility Modification Program (AMP) funded $447,129 in repairs to 31 homes.

● The Veteran Affairs Specially Adapted Housing Grant funded two homes with $170,000.

Understanding weatherization and energy programs

A confirmed total of four weatherization and energy programs provided an estimated total of

$6,432,213 in grant funding for energy or weatherization repairs or equipment to an estimated total of

1,623 homes in 2018.

The largest weatherization and energy programs available to Detroit residents are listed below:

● DTE Energy provided $4,184,715 in grants and equipment, representing 61% of all private funding

in the home repair ecosystem;

● Wayne Metro Community Action’s Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), provided $1,487,392

from the Department of Energy and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds

to 168 homes for weatherization repairs such as wall installation and furnace replacement.

● MSHDA’s State Emergency Relief (SER) program provided $460,107 in energy grants reaching 155

households in Wayne County.

Understanding volunteer programs

Page 20 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

A confirmed total of 10 nonprofit organizations performed minor home repair work on an estimated

374 homes in 2018 through the use of volunteers and donations. Most of these organizations cannot

perform more technical repairs like roof repairs or major accessibility modifications due to a lack of

program funds or lack of technically skilled volunteers. Funding for these programs varies year to year,

is not guaranteed, and almost every program only operates in specific geographic areas in the city.

● Life Remodeled was the only confirmed community-based organization with a volunteer home

repair program performing roof repairs in 2018, through the use of licensed contractors who

donate time and materials.

● Brick+Beam does not provide home repair funds to residents, but they do provide workshops

for building rehabbers and offer resources online aimed at teaching homeowners skills to repair

their homes themselves. We did not include the number of households they reached with

workshops in our estimates.

How are home repair programs being used?

To understand how existing home repair programs’ resources are being used, we further defined and

categorized programs by the type of repairs funded by each program in 2018. Table 5 denotes how

funding was utilized by four program types: critical home repairs, energy and weatherization,

accessibility, and volunteer programs. Some programs allow funds to be used for more than one type of

repair (e.g., accessibility and critical home repair), but categorization was conducted based on the main

type of repair funded by the program.

Critical home repairs are defined as home repairs that improve the condition of a property such as roof

repairs, lead abatement, electrical work, etc. Although Life Remodeled is a volunteer-based program,

we included it in this category because the program repairs roofs, which are critical repairs. In 2018,

38% of home repair resources went to critical home repairs, yet these types of repairs represent only

13% of total participants served (Table 5).

Energy and weatherization programs typically provide low-income households with funds to perform

home modifications to reduce energy costs and protect against the elements. Funds typically cannot be

used for critical home repairs and are primarily used for furnace replacement. MI Saves Home Energy

Loan is the only exception, allowing households to use the funds for non-energy related improvements

if the improvement is necessary to complete an energy project. In 2018, 45% of home repair resources

went to energy/weatherization projects reaching 1,701 units — the largest share of total households

reached (Table 5).

Accessibility programs provide home modifications that improve the ability of individuals living with

disabilities and seniors to live in their homes. Although Ehm Senior Solutions and Bridging

Communities have volunteer-based home repair programs, we included them in this category because

their programs are targeted to seniors. In 2018, 17% of home repair resources went to accessibility

programs reaching 556 units (Table 5).

Volunteer home repairs are defined as repairs performed by volunteer-based programs that typically

provide minor improvements to homes, such as gutter cleaning, fence repair, or painting. Donations

collected were not reported by volunteer programs. In 2018, nearly 300 homes received volunteer home

repair assistance.

Page 21 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Table 5 – Home repair spending by type for 2018

Program Type

Dollars Spent

% of Total

Units Reached

% of Total

Critical Home Repairs

$6,075,541

38%

387

13%

Energy/Weatherization

$7,111,745

45%

1,701

58%

Accessibility

$2,654,919

17%

556

19%

Volunteer Home Repairs

Not reported

299

10%

2018 Totals

$15,842,205

100%

2,943

100%

Note: Critical Home Repair Programs include MSHDA’s Property Improvement Program, City of Detroit’s 0% Interest

Home Repair Program, MSHDA’s State Emergency Relief Non-Energy Program, City of Detroit’s Lead Hazard Control

Program, FHLBI’s Neighborhood Improvement Program, MSHDA’s Neighborhood Enhancement Program, UCHC’s Make

It Home Program, Cody Rouge’s Porch Repair Program and Life Remodeled’s Home Repair Program.

Energy/Weatherization Programs include Michigan Saves Loan Program, Wayne Metro’s Weatherization Assistance

Program, Wayne Metros’ Water Residential Assistance Program, DTE’s Energy Efficiency Assistance Program and

MSHDA’s State Emergency Relief Energy Program.

Accessibility Programs include FHLBI’s Accessibility Modification Program, MI Choice Waiver program, the VA’s Specially

Adapted Housing Grant, the City of Detroit’s Senior Emergency Program, Bridging Communities and Ehm Senior

Solutions.

Volunteer Home Repair Programs include the following organizations: Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan, Rippling

Hope, and Central Detroit Christian. Units reached were not confirmed for Joy Southfield Development Corporation and

Hope Community Church. Units reached by Brick + Beam were not included because they do not provide funding or

equipment to households.

How do other cities prioritize home repair?

To better inform the Detroit home repair ecosystem, we conducted a scan of city-administered home

repair programs in peer cities to evaluate program requirements and design compared to the city of

Detroit (Table 6). We focused on peer cities in the industrial Midwest and also examined cities with

numerous home repair programs, such as Minneapolis. While this list is not exhaustive, it provides

insight into existing efforts to address home repair needs.

In total, all of the cities offered some form of home repair program, with Minneapolis and Cleveland

providing the greatest number of home repair program offerings. Collectively, these cities offer a

number of promising practices from which Detroit may be able to learn.

Page 22 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Table 6 – Home Repair Programs in Select Peer Cities, 2019

City

Number of

programs

Deferred loan

for

health/safety

repairs

Interest rate

varies by

income

Loan Term

Program

available to all

low-income

residents

without credit

score

Lead grant

included in

loan program

Renter/landlord

program

Cleveland,

5 Yes Yes

Up to 30

years

Yes No Lead only

Madison, WI 3 Yes Yes

Up to 20

years

Yes No

Code

violations

Milwaukee,

4 Yes Yes 15 years Yes No

Code

violations

Pittsburgh,

3 No No 20 years No Yes Accessibility

Minneapolis,

5 Yes Yes 30 years Yes Yes None

Louisville,

4 Yes No

5-year

forgivable

Yes Yes

Code

violations

Detroit, MI 3 No No 10 years No No Lead only

Deferred loans: Nearly all cities assessed provide deferred loans available to residents for code

violations or health and safety home repairs with different income thresholds, ranging from 30%-80%

of a city’s area median income (AMI).

Deferred loan programs often will delay repayment on a loan

until the eventual sale of a home (and even then may only require a partial payment) or forgive the loan

if the home’s value declines.

Thus, deferred loans add no immediate financial burden to households.

No credit score requirement exists in any of the deferred loan programs we reviewed. Because of the

high risk of loss on the part of the lender, deferred loan programs are often run by government entities

or mission-driven organizations. No deferred loan program currently exists in Detroit.

Madison’s deferred loan program requires a one-time income review at five years and if the borrower’s

income exceeds program limits, the loan is converted into a low-interest, fixed-rate installment loan.

Pittsburgh does not have a deferred loan option, but their 0% interest home repair loan term is 20

years, resulting in lower monthly payments, and is integrated with other grant programs.

Varying interest rates and income eligibility caps on city-run low-interest loan programs: Most

cities we studied also have low-interest home repair loan programs, which have an income cap and

varying interest rates by income. Varying interest rates (i.e., charging those with higher incomes a

slightly higher interest rate) is a notable feature of low-interest loan programs, as higher rates for those

Page 23 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

who can afford it could help build a healthier, more sustainable revolving loan fund. In addition,

imposing an income cap can ensure higher-income households, who would more likely qualify for

financing on the private market, are not crowding out low- and middle-income households from limited

low-interest loan funding. Four cities we studied offer varying interest rates (ranging from 0-6.75%)

depending on household income, and all cities have income limits on their programs, though in some

cities, like Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and Madison, these limits are quite high. Conversely, Detroit’s 0%

Interest Home Loan Program charges a 0% interest rate at all income levels, and in certain

neighborhoods, there is no income eligibility cap.

Fusing grant programs with loan programs: In our interviews, we found a primary barrier to accessing

Detroit’s 0% Interest Home Loan Program was that households were required to remediate lead in their

home in order to qualify for loans of over $10,000. Other cities have faced this issue as well, and, to

remedy the problem, have combined a lead remediation grant program with their home loan program.

Pittsburgh and Minneapolis have both implemented this model.

Offering landlords a flexible lending program: Several of the cities we studied have loan programs

that enable landlords to address a host of code violations, tied to affordable rent provisions. Detroit

also has a loan program targeted to landlords, but funds from the program can only be used for lead

remediation. While lead remediation is a major concern in rental properties, landlords often need to

address a range of repairs to bring their properties up to code.

Practitioner perspectives: Home Repair in Detroit

“The whole system is one big gap.”

- Executive director, community-based organization

Most organizations interviewed for this project completed a short questionnaire to capture practitioner

perspectives on the state of the home repair market in Detroit. Table 7 summarizes their responses to

the survey questions. Overwhelmingly, interviewees commented that the existing home repair

programs, funding, and resources offered throughout Detroit by government, private funders, and

volunteers are not coming close to meeting the needs of residents. Demand far exceeds supply at the

price lower income residents can pay.

Table 7– Satisfaction with home repair resources

n=16

unless otherwise noted

The existing home repair programs in Detroit meet the home

repair needs of Detroiters

75% Disagree or

Strongly Disagree

Detroiters would benefit from additional home repair

programs being offered

94% Agree or Strongly

Agree

Detroiters who have home repair needs face challenges in

meeting eligibility requirements for loan-based home repair

programs

88% Agree or Strongly

Agree

Page 24 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

The existing home repair programs in Detroit meet the home

accessibility needs of Detroiters

88% Disagree or

Strongly Disagree

Detroiters would benefit from more home repair programs

focusing on home accessibility being offered

88% Agree or Strongly

Agree

There is sufficient affordable accessible (ramp, railings, grab

bars) housing in Detroit

81% Disagree or

Strongly Disagree

I am confident I can refer those in need to home repair

services that can meet their needs

81% Disagree or

Strongly Disagree

There is coordination between the available homeownership

resources/programs in the city

83% Disagree or

Strongly Disagree

(n=12)

Survey Responses: Detroit Future City, Detroit Action Commonwealth, ClearCorps, Wayne Metropolitan, UCHC, Grandmont Rosedale,

Brick+Beam, Rippling Hope, U-SNAP-BAC, Bridging Communities, SER Metro Detroit, Jefferson East Inc., Central Detroit Christian, Cody Rouge

Community Alliance, Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan, EHM Senior Solutions.

A large majority of organizations commented that there’s not enough funding or programs to meet the

current need in Detroit (75%), that they don’t know where to refer people to for services (81%), and

waitlists are long. Moreover, many organizations discussed their hesitation to advertise programs

because the available funding can help only a limited number of people. Although the City of Detroit

contributed more than one-third of all funding in the 2018 home repair ecosystem, city government

faces similar constraints as other organizations, with limited funding, resources, and capacity.

Gaps in the Home Repair Ecosystem

Poverty Solutions also conducted open-ended interviews with providers to understand how home

repair programs operate in Detroit and to identify gaps in existing programming. The following list

represents the main gaps identified during the interviews:

● Low-income Detroiters struggle to access loan programs

● There are not enough grant dollars to address immediate health and safety repair needs

● Seniors and persons living with disabilities struggle to access resources

● There is a lack of coordination between programs

● Low-income homeowners need help navigating applications, bids, and inspections

● Nearly all home repair loans and grants require ownership and occupancy

● There is a shortage of licensed general contractors, and the cost of repairs is high

Low-income Detroiters struggle to access loan programs

The most common remark we heard from community-based organizations is that low-income residents

struggle to access loan programs. The 0% Interest Home Repair Loan is the largest home repair

program available to low-income residents for health and safety repairs in Detroit.

Page 25 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

What is the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Program?

The loan provides 10-year no-interest loans up to $25,000 for qualified homeowners, with funding from

private banks and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Qualified

homeowners across the city cannot make more than 80% Area Median Income ($42,750 for a 1-person

household in 2019), but there is no income limit inside targeted areas. The minimum credit score is 560

and the debt-to-income ratio cannot exceed 45%, among other requirements such as homeowner’s

insurance and being current on property taxes (including payment plans).

With no interest and a subprime credit threshold, the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Program is clearly

designed to offer loans to low-income and credit-constrained households. However, due to

exceptionally low credit scores amongst Detroit residents and other requirements around debt-to-

income ratio, homeowner’s insurance, and property tax delinquency, families with very low incomes

struggle to access the program. Several community-based organizations remarked that the program

was largely inaccessible to the residents they serve.

Barriers to accessing the 0% Interest Home Loan Program for low-income households

Unaffordability: In a city where half of all households have incomes less than $31,283, adding an

additional monthly bill of $150-$200 for 10 years, even without interest, is unaffordable.

In addition, a

loan of any kind is often a challenge for seniors on fixed-income. For low-income populations,

expanding grant programs or deferring loan payments until the point of sale — with loans potentially

forgiven if the sale price does not cover loan payments — may be the only solutions to ensure access to

home repair resources.

“Most of these folks are already living on the edge, so the thought of taking on

another expense in their life is not something they’re overjoyed about.”

- Executive director, community-based organization

High Debt-to-Income Ratios and Low Credit Scores: To meet the program’s required debt-to-income

threshold of 45%, a homeowner making $24,050 a year would have to owe less than $900/month in

debt payments, which includes property taxes (including payment plans), mortgage payments,

homeowner’s insurance, past-due debt, credit card payments, plus the additional cost of the 0%

interest loan. This presents a challenge in a city like Detroit, where 66% of residents have debt in

collections, credit card usage ratios are high compared with the rest of the country, and roughly 60,000

households in 2018 were delinquent on their property taxes.

Other cities have instituted deferred loan

programs for low-income residents, which do not increase debt or financial burden.

In addition, while the credit score threshold for the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program is far below

traditional underwriting requirements, it still falls above the median credit score in Detroit of 552,

making it inaccessible to many Detroit residents.

As we referenced above, several cities have dropped

credit score requirements from certain loan programs to better ensure broad access to capital.

The median credit score figure comes from a 2016 study from the Urban Institute and includes both owners and

renters. To the extent that homeowners have better credit than renters, the median credit score for the population that

might be applying for the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program may be higher than the median credit score for all

Detroit residents.

Page 26 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

“I think the 0% loan program is fantastic, but the issue is that it skips over or avoids

the target clients, those most in need of services.”

- Program manager, community-based organization

Homeowner’s Insurance and Property Tax Payment Plans: Unaffordable or inaccessible homeowner’s

insurance can also serve as a barrier to applicants. The program permits applicants whose insurance

was canceled due to a needed repair, but it does not specifically address applicants who cannot get

approval for homeowner’s insurance due to low property values. More research is needed on the

obstacles Detroit households face in obtaining homeowner’s insurance.

In addition, as noted above, tens of thousands of Detroit homeowners are not current on their property

taxes, due to a combination of low incomes, artificially high property assessments, and historically low

participation in the City’s property tax exemption program for low-income homeowners.

Efforts to

keep households current on property taxes can also help reduce barriers to accessing home repair

funds, and the City of Detroit and Wayne County have made significant progress in helping tax

delinquent households avoid foreclosure and manage property tax debt.

Reviewing 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Approval Data

As of June 2019, a total of 919 applicants had been approved for the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan

Program over its four year history, with an approval rate of 37% (Figure 4). As one might expect, as

household income increases, the approval rate also increases. Just 22% of extremely low-income

borrowers, below 30% AMI, have been approved for the program, compared to 53% of borrowers

above 80% AMI.

While approval rates are skewed toward households with incomes above 80% AMI, the program is

serving a need for this population, as little to no mortgage market exists in roughly half the city.

these parts of the city, even well-qualified borrowers are likely unable to secure a loan for home

repairs, and the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program fills this gap. However, it is vital that

policymakers consider who is unable to access this program and how home repair needs of low-

income Detroiters can be better met.

Page 27 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Figure 4 – 0% Interest Home Repair Loan Approval Rates by Area Median Income of Household

(Note: Approval data from program start date in 2015 - June 2019 provided by LISC)

Among all approved borrowers:

● 35% have extremely or very low incomes, below 50% AMI,

● 35% have low-to-moderate incomes, between 51% and 80% AMI, and

● 30% have incomes above 80% AMI.

Table 8 - 2017 Adjusted Household Income Limits for Households Living in the Detroit Metro Area

AMI Limit

1 person

2 person

3 person

4 person

Extremely Low-

Income

30% AMI

$14,450

$16,500

$18,550

$20,600

Very Low-Income

50% AMI

$24,050

$27,450

$30,900

$34,300

Low-Income

60% AMI

$28,860

$32,940

$37,080

$41,160

Moderate-Income 80%

AMI

$38,450

$43,950

$49,450

$54,900

*Note: Household size determines AMI. Average household size of a borrower in 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program is two.

Page 28 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Perhaps reflecting approval rates, 31% of the total approved loan funding was allocated to low-

income households below 50% AMI and 69% was allocated to households above 50% AMI,

representing an estimated $6,309,705 and $13,800,748, respectively (Figure 5).

Figure 5 – 0% Home loan Approved Borrowers and Loan Amounts by AMI

Barriers to accessing grant programs for low-income households

Although there are a few grant programs available to residents for home repairs, they are too limited in

scope and scale to meet the varied and substantial needs of low-income Detroit homeowners.

Limited funds for emergency repairs: The only grant program that provides immediate, emergency

assistance for health and safety home repairs is MSHDA’s State Emergency Relief (SER) program,

which provided a total of just $70,307 for non-energy related home repairs in 67 Wayne County homes

in 2018. Several organizations interviewed commented that they regularly get calls for emergency

home repair needs such as hazardous roof leaks or broken exterior steps, but they have nowhere to

send residents. Volunteer-based home repair programs offered by community organizations are

typically small in scale and do not focus on large-ticket items such as roof repair. The city of Detroit

does not have a grant program focused on home health and safety repairs other than lead remediation,

unless the resident is a senior or is over 55 with a disability.

“I had someone come in and her credit was bad and she’s on disability with 3-4 kids

and her basement is flooded, has mold, and the roof is leaking. She can’t get approved

for the [0% Interest Home Repair Loan] program - I have no idea where to send her.”

Executive director, community-based organization

Page 29 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

The SER program is capped at a one-time grant of $1,500.

However, this grant amount is likely too

small to address most home repair needs. Estimates indicate the average repair cost for an occupied

unit in the Detroit MSA is $3,228, and national estimates for the average repair cost for moderately and

severely inadequate units are $4,361 and $6,487, respectively, both eclipsing the maximum grant from

the SER program.

It is also worth noting that the cost of repairs in the city of Detroit are likely higher

than national or metro-level estimates due to the age of the housing stock and deferred maintenance

due to low incomes, low property values, and constrained credit.

Funds are expended quickly: The only other grant option in Detroit for general home repairs is the

Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis’ (FHLBI) Neighborhood Impact Program (NIP), which provides

grants of up to $7,500 for qualifying home repairs in households below 80% AMI. Emerging evidence

suggests a $7,500 grant, while perhaps not addressing all home repair needs in severely inadequate

homes, is enough to address emergency repairs and improves a homeowner’s perception of housing

stability.

However, the NIP program is dramatically oversubscribed and available funds are expended

quickly. Applications for the NIP program are typically released in April, with funds allocated by

September, and applicants who do not submit a completed application correctly within a few weeks are

unlikely to receive funds. U-SNAP-BAC, who helps administer NIP on behalf of local banks, commented

that people were lined up at 1 a.m. the night before applications were released. Over 300 people

applied at U-SNAP-BAC, but only 76 applicants in Detroit received funds in 2018.

City of Detroit’s non-senior grants focus on lead remediation: The city’s largest grant program is the City

of Detroit’s Lead Hazard Control Program, a necessary program in a city in which, in 2016, nearly 9% of

children under 6 screened for lead poisoning exhibited elevated blood lead levels.

Because of the

focus on lead remediation, however, these grant funds are not available for general repairs and are not

available to all low-income Detroit residents. The program is only available for pregnant mothers and

households with children under the age of 6.

Seniors and people living with disabilities struggle to access resources

Nearly every organization interviewed expressed concern over the lack of streamlined resources

available to assist the immediate repair needs of seniors, who may be aging in place in old housing

stock, struggle to maintain their homes, and need accessibility modifications.

“Detroit has a rapidly aging population and you have people who have maintained

their homes for a long time, they don’t want to go anywhere else. Their decline in

health is also a decline in maintenance. People don’t know where to go and don’t

know what to do.”

- Construction manager of senior repair services

Seniors who do not qualify for or who cannot afford a 0% Interest Home Repair Loan cannot

immediately access grant funds for deferred maintenance items or accessibility needs. Three grant

programs are available to seniors or people living with a disability, but they have waitlists or funds are

expended quickly: the City of Detroit’s Senior Emergency Program, the Detroit Area on Aging’s MI

Choice Waiver Program, and FHLBI’s Accessibility Modification Program (AMP). Disabled Veterans

The program also offers one-time energy repairs up to $4,000 that can only be used for furnace repair or

replacement.

Page 30 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

have access to grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for accessibility modifications, but

the VA disbursed only two grants in Detroit last year. While nonprofits are trying to fill in this gap with

donations and volunteers, most are unable to address critical, technical repairs, such as roof

replacement or ramp installation.

Long waitlists: Most organizations interviewed did not identify the City of Detroit’s Senior Emergency

Program — which served 22 households in 2018 and currently has a waitlist — as a viable option. The MI

Choice Waiver Program, which currently has a waitlist, can provide accessibility repairs to Medicaid-

eligible adults who have been denied other funding sources.

Funds are expended quickly: The only other grant program available to seniors or people living with a

disability is FHLBI’s Accessibility Modifications Program. However, similar to NIP, the program is

oversubscribed and spots fill quickly.

There is a lack of coordination between programs

While some organizations partner to leverage funds and expertise, most of the funding in the home

repair space is uncoordinated and restricted. In contrast, flexible and coordinated funding from multiple

public and private partners can allow dollars to be combined to meet the most urgent needs and

remove barriers to accessing certain programs. Several organizations noted that one potential area for

reform may be removing requirements around lead remediation when there are no children in the

home, which can limit access to and funding for other repairs. Rather, programs for seniors could first

ensure that the home is secure (e.g., steps, porch, roof) and that seniors can get in and out of the home

before addressing lead. Moreover, most seniors in Detroit do not have children living in the home, with

53.1% of Detroiter’s ages 65 and older living alone.

“The health hazards come out of your money. We had an older client who needed a

furnace, she was approved for the full amount, but they found lead and it would cost

$30,000 to remove the lead. Where’s the consideration if there’s no children in the

home?”

- Housing counselor, community-based organization

Another area for coordination could be in the administration of DTE’s Energy Efficiency Program, which

provides furnace repairs and replacement to qualified homes. The program requires homes have major

repairs (e.g., structural damage to porches and roofs) completed before they can receive a new furnace.

By partnering with existing or new home repair programs, DTE could better ensure Detroit households

don’t lose access to their critical services.

Homeowners need help navigating applications, bids, and inspections

Low-income residents require assistance not just in applying for home repair programs, but throughout

the process of completing home repairs. More technical assistance is needed to help residents fill out

applications correctly, gather necessary documents and construction bids, and find licensed

contractors. For example, FHLBI’s two grant programs — NIP and AMP — require residents to obtain

two bids from certified general contractors. And while organizations like U-SNAP-BAC do their best to

help residents complete applications, they do not have the capacity to help residents get two

comparable, itemized estimates from certified contractors. Other programs like the city’s 0% Interest

Home Repair Loan Program and the Senior Emergency Repair Program provide their own contractors,

Page 31 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

but program guidelines dictate that homeowners are required to inspect and approve the work

themselves. Although the city does have its own inspectors to assist homeowners throughout this

process, it is unclear how it is implemented.

Nearly all home repair loans and grants require ownership and occupancy

Programs ranging from the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan to FHLBI’s NIP and AMP programs all

require residents to own and occupy their home for a minimum of six months before they can apply for

home repair funds. This means owners of uninhabitable homes cannot receive funding unless they

currently occupy the home, which particularly impacts Detroiters who hope to become homeowners by

buying property from the land bank with plans to rehab the home.

The only option for renters, who live in inadequate housing at higher rates than homeowners, is to

apply to the city’s Lead Hazard Control Program. However, as the name suggests, the focus of the

program is on lead abatement, not deferred maintenance or major home repairs, and the program is

unavailable to renters without children. Renters who have other housing problems such as a leaky roof

or pest infestation, are unable to access funds, and are instead wholly dependent on their landlords to

make the repairs, which they often fail to do.

The best solution for renters is to ensure adequate

enforcement of the city’s rental ordinance, which is designed to compel landlords to make needed

health and safety repairs.

Shortage of licensed general contractors and high cost of repairs

According to interviewees, licensed contractors willing to provide bids or perform residential home

repair work are hard to find. This is a huge challenge in accessing programs like FHLBI’s NIP and AMP

grant programs, which require residents to obtain bids from two licensed contractors.

Organizations also cited high construction costs (including licenses, insurance fees, and supply costs)

for driving up the price of the work and for deterring unlicensed contractors from obtaining a license.

Small business contractors and skilled tradesmen also require start-up working capital to participate in

grant programs because payment comes after the work is completed. Challenges in accessing capital,

especially for small, minority-owned businesses, can make it difficult to conduct home repairs on a

large scale where licenses, fees, and materials are required upfront.

Recent reports in Detroit have noted the shortage of licensed skilled trades workers in the area.

Organizations interviewed for this report echoed this sentiment and continually noted that efforts were

needed to address liquidity constraints facing homeowners, while also bolstering the supply of licensed

contractors to conduct home repair work.

Moving Forward: Policy Options

The following recommendations are informed by community organizations, discussions with subject

matter experts in healthy housing and accessibility, and reviewing leading practices in other cities.

These are meant as options for what stakeholders could do to address existing needs, not necessarily

recommendations for what should occur.

Page 32 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Enhancing Existing Programs

Provide a toolkit of home repair services to organizations and residents

Many organizations interviewed remarked they did not know of any home repair programs other than

the 0% Interest Home Repair Loan program offered by the City of Detroit. For community-based

organizations that interface with residents on a regular basis, it is essential that they have easy access

to resources available to assist residents with home repair needs. Creating a continually updated home

repair resource guide online to better inform organizations of the resources available, including funds,

trainings, and services, can help connect residents to the assistance they need. The city of Milwaukee

has a housing resource guide for both homeowners and homebuyers.

A new Detroit Home Repair

Resource Guide published by Poverty Solutions aims to address this need by providing information on

existing programs serving Detroit residents.

And the City of Detroit is working to create housing

resource centers, located in neighborhoods throughout the city, which can serve as a one-stop shop for

home repair resources.

Offer multiple funding options for different income groups

Providing different funding options such as grants, 0% interest deferred loans, and low-interest

installment loans to homeowners of various income levels could stretch dollars and offer low-income

Detroiters greater opportunity to access home repair funds. The 0% Interest Home Repair Loan

Program could be restructured to provide various funding options and interest rates including 0%

interest deferred loans to low-income households and various low-interest installment loans to middle-

income households. The city of Milwaukee uses city funds for its citywide Compliance Loan Program

specifically to address health and safety code violations.

The program is available only to households

with incomes less than 60% AMI, does not have debt-to-income or credit score requirements, and is a

0% deferred loan, resulting in no monthly payments to the borrower. While this program targets low-

income residents with health and safety home hazards, the city also has three other programs:

STRONG Homes has a 0-3% interest rate for households with up to 120% AMI; Home Rehab has a

partial, forgivable, no-interest deferred loan for low-income seniors or people with a disability; and the

Rental Rehab Program is for renters.

Integrate lead abatement grants into health and safety repairs

Half of the grant funding spent in 2018 in Detroit came from the City of Detroit’s Lead Hazard Control

Program, which is specifically for households with children under 6 years old and pregnant women. A

more integrated program that advertises home health and safety repairs including roof and window

repair, is available to low-income residents, and allows homeowners to tap into grant funding for lead

abatement could help households address lead in the home as well as other needed health and safety

repairs. Pittsburgh’s Home Rehabilitation Program (PHRP) provides up to $10,000 in lead hazard

reduction work for 0% interest loan participants.

The city of Minneapolis also incorporates lead hazard

grants into their Home Improvement Program (HIP).

Universal healthy home assessments for all programs and shared database

Every home repair project should start with a complete home health assessment to better prioritize

health and safety issues, regardless of the focus of the home repair program. Organizations such as

Page 33 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Rebuilding Together Southeast Michigan and Wayne Metro Community Action discussed the

importance of implementing a healthy home assessment to determine the home repair needs and

prioritize health and safety issues. The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, a leader in promoting

healthy homes, utilizes its own comprehensive assessment process to review home health and energy

use.

Instituting a universal healthy home assessment that is implemented by the city and partner

organizations, as well as creating a shared database including properties that have received a healthy

home assessment, can promote efficiency and coordination of services.

Address home health & accessibility goals to assist aging-in-place residents

For seniors and people living with disabilities who may have both home accessibility and home health

and safety needs, it is important to assess the home and consider the goals of the individual. Housing

Upgrades to Benefit Seniors (HUBS) in Baltimore provides individual and holistic home assessments for

both home safety and security concerns, such as roof leaks and accessibility modifications, all through a

single intake system that starts with an online pre-application. Home inspectors working with seniors

could partner with occupational therapists or receive training to become Certified Aging-in-Place

Specialists (CAPS) to better address both accessibility needs and health and safety needs of seniors’

homes.

Provide technical assistance for home repair projects

Low-income homeowners, especially seniors, require technical assistance to complete applications,

conduct home inspections, and obtain bids. Organizations are too understaffed and under-resourced to

assist homeowners throughout every phase of the home repair process. Investing in human capital to

provide technical assistance could ensure homeowners enter fair contracts, obtain accurate and

competitive bids, and receive requested repairs.

Funding for small landlords to improve rental housing conditions

Programs could also be expanded to provide funding to small, undercapitalized landlords to make

needed health and safety repairs. Many cities, including Madison, Milwaukee, Louisville, and

Greensboro, offer home repair funds for landlords. The city of Madison offers low-interest loans for

non-owner-occupied units, with a requirement stipulating that rents after the first year of rehabilitation

remain below a certain threshold.

By including an affordable rent provision in the contract, small

landlords can access low-interest loans to correct code violations and make accessibility repairs, while

maintaining affordable rental housing.

Learning from Peer Practices

Align resources and promote cross-sector collaboration

The home repair problem in Detroit cannot be solved by the city government alone or by organizations

working in silos. While additional home repair funds are needed, organizations should leverage

resources and existing expertise. More strategic collaboration is needed among community-based

organizations, hospitals, the City of Detroit, and private organizations including banks and real estate

firms to tackle inadequate housing. Using funds in flexible, innovative ways could reach more residents

and expand the capacity of partnerships with community organizations already doing home repair

Page 34 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

work in Detroit neighborhoods. For example, the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative, a national

nonprofit, successfully brought together community stakeholders to assess how dollars could better

align for maximum impact and how healthcare savings could be realized through home repair.

Use real estate transfer taxes to fund state housing trust fund

Most states, including Michigan, have established housing trust funds to support affordable housing

initiatives, including the provision of funds for home repair. In 2008, the state of Michigan established

the Housing and Community Development Fund administered by MSHDA, but funding has not been

allocated to the fund since 2013.

States — including Washington, D.C., Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Nevada,

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Vermont and West Virginia — commonly use the real estate

transfer tax as revenue for their housing trust funds.

Michigan could consider joining these states in

using the real estate transfer tax to support its housing trust fund and use more of those resources for

home repair initiatives.

Establish a housing resource center to leverage city funds

After years of providing Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) for home repairs, the city of

Syracuse, New York, established a nonprofit, Home HeadQuarters, Inc., described as a one-stop-shop

for all homeownership needs. The organization provides affordable home services including home

repair funds, education, and counseling to promote affordable homeownership. Home Headquarters

has won multiple awards and attracted additional funding, leveraging over $83 million in home repair

financing through several low-interest loan programs.

A home repair program that was once entirely

city-funded has attracted $4 for every $1 invested, according to city estimates.

We must acknowledge, however, there is an opportunity cost to using CDGB or housing trust fund

dollars to fund home repair programs, as these dollars would otherwise go to other important priorities.

Prioritize low-income, longtime Detroiters in the redevelopment of homes

Louisville, Kentucky, identified the potential displacement of longtime residents as a concern in areas

where the city is investing funds, such as the city’s Russell neighborhood, home to the Beecher Terrace

public housing development. In 2016, the local housing authority received a $29.5 million

implementation grant through HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative to rebuild Beecher Terrace and

the surrounding neighborhood.

The city focused on preventing the displacement of longtime

residents in the neighborhood by investing in targeted home repair programs through five-year

forgivable, deferred loans and rebuilding affordable low-income housing units. The two-year planning

process for the grant application included a committee of Russell residents, city officials, and local

leaders. A similar initiative in Detroit prioritizing residents who have lived in the city for at least 15

years, for example, could reduce unintended displacement associated with neighborhood investments.

Linking healthy housing initiatives and workforce development

The large need for home repair offers a workforce development opportunity in the skilled trades and

healthy home assessments. The newly developed Healthy Home Evaluator (HHE) certification offers an

opportunity for unemployed workers to receive training and payment to expedite healthy home

assessments in Detroit.

The National Center for Healthy Housing provided mini-grants in 2018 for its

Healthy Homes Workforce Development competition, funding organizations like Green | Space in

Page 35 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Tennessee that will use funds to provide healthy homes workforce training.

Medicaid reimbursement

funds can also be leveraged to fund Community Health Workers to provide healthy home

assessments.

Investing in opportunities for youth to be successful in the construction field and capitalizing on the

existing contracting talent of unlicensed builders in Detroit can increase competition and lower

construction costs. Philadelphia recently launched a pilot program to connect recent trade school

graduates with local contractors to increase employment opportunities for young people.

Small-scale

contractors without access to capital often cannot afford the added cost of insurance, licensing, and

other expenses. Providing funds to Detroit-based, minority contractors to offset the expense of

becoming a certified contractor, as well as providing project and business management support, could

help build the pipeline of qualified contractors while reducing racial employment disparities in the

metro Detroit region.

Many organizations in Detroit have been working for years to increase the number of licensed

contractors and skilled tradespeople in the city. The Southwest Detroit Business Association and

Michigan Hispanic Contractors Association are working to increase the number of Hispanic businesses

in the construction industry; the Detroit Training Centers offers a range of potential licenses and

certifications; and the City of Detroit, area community colleges, and Detroit Public Schools Community

District fund and operate a number of programs designed to boost the number of Detroiters trained in

construction and skilled trades. These are just a few of the many examples of organizations working to

meet a critical gap in the home repair ecosystem, while also seeking to provide Detroiters with good

jobs.

Encourage savings and financial literacy to improve credit scores

Linking savings programs directly to home repair needs can encourage homeowners to save for critical

home repairs. Financial literacy programs focused on tools and techniques to improve credit scores can

help homeowners access loans for home repair and other capital needs. Working in Neighborhoods

Cincinnati, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit, integrates financial literacy training into its community-

centered approach to revitalizing neighborhoods.

The organization focuses on establishing savings

goals with homeowners to save for home repairs, using a 2:1 matching savings incentive approach.

Here in Detroit, the city recently launched the Financial Empowerment Center (FEC), which offers a

range of financial counseling services around budgeting, debt reduction, and credit improvement, and

integrates those services with other social services, such as foreclosure prevention.

As far as we know, all of the promising practices listed above have not been evaluated, so we don’t

know for sure the extent to which these programs improve the condition of low-income housing in the

cities in which they are based. Rather, these programs are offered solely as alternative approaches that

respond to certain gaps identified within Detroit’s home repair ecosystem. More evaluation is needed

of existing and new home repair programs.

CONCLUSION

Addressing the home repair needs of both homeowners and renters in Detroit requires a coordinated,

cross-sector, collaborative effort that maximizes the impact of current programs. But it also requires

Page 36 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

resources. Aging housing stock and low incomes are two risk factors that increase the likelihood and

severity of repair needs.

In Detroit, nearly 80% of the occupied residential structures were built prior

to 1960, and roughly one-third of residents live under the poverty line.

Families living in inadequate

housing who are unable to afford repairs may eventually have no choice but to abandon their homes to

escape housing problems such as leaky roofs, rodent infestation, inadequate heating, or mold. High

rates of inadequacy in rental housing magnifies the need to invest in home repair for low-income

homeowners as a way to maintain adequate, affordable housing units and build wealth.

The repair needs in Detroit are significant, and our analysis of data from the American Housing Survey

and Detroit’s home repair ecosystem suggests current resources devoted to home repair don’t come

close to meeting the need. The City of Detroit and a network of community partners can surely make

necessary reforms to help stretch the impact of available dollars and provide a more seamless

experience for those with home repair needs. But in order to make a real and lasting impact on the

quality of Detroit homes, more philanthropic and federal resources are required.

Indeed, a compelling case can be made for federal action. In the 1940s, ‘50s, and ‘60s, the federal

government subsidized the development of suburban homes across the country, solely for white

people.

At the same time, Black Americans had to fend for themselves in cities like Detroit, often

purchasing homes through predatory land contracts which robbed them of the wealth-building

possibilities of homeownership.

Robust federal support for home repair in aging industrial cities like

Detroit could give thousands of Black households the opportunity to secure safe and affordable

housing, and perhaps even set the stage for the wealth creation. Such a measure would be far from

sufficient to rectify the damage done by our history of racially discriminatory housing policies, but it

would be a step in the right direction.

A decent home for all was our obligation in 1945, and it remains our obligation today. With innovative

new programs, cross-sector collaboration, and an influx of resources dedicated to home repair, we can

make great progress towards fulfilling this obligation.

LIMITATIONS

While we made great efforts to be as comprehensive as possible in this report, the study is subject to

certain limitations. First, although we attempted to interview all 11 0% Interest Home Repair Loan

intake centers, some centers did not respond to requests for interviews. We also made an effort to

engage in discussions with all organizations active in the home repair ecosystem, but we were unable to

conduct interviews with every organization affiliated with home repair in Detroit.

Second, the universe of occupied housing units in the American Housing Survey Detroit MSA includes

single-family homes, apartments, groups of rooms, and single occupied rooms, but it does not include

institutional group quarters, nursing homes, or college dormitories. Although analyzing AHS data gives

researchers an estimate of the level of home repair need in the Detroit area, it does not provide precise

numbers.

Third, our staff contacted over 60 organizations to confirm they administered a home repair program,

but given the number of community-based organizations in Detroit, it is possible that we missed a

home repair program. Additionally, a few community-driven home repair programs did not want to be

Page 37 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

included in our home repair resource guide and did not want to provide information about households

reached. The funding spent on home repair in 2018 and households reached is intended to estimate the

annual home repair funding. Funding is not constant year-to-year, but focusing on 2018 gives

stakeholders an estimate for how much funding presently exists.

We did not include funding provided for training, even though training people how to maintain their

home is important, because these programs do not directly provide funding or equipment to correct a

repair problem. Likewise, the attached ecosystem map represents our best attempt to map out the

funding streams within the 2018 ecosystem based on information received from program

representatives and information online.

Finally, while this report offers a number of promising practices found in other cities, we do not have

good evaluations of these programs. Therefore, we cannot say for certain whether the innovative

programs we point to are truly effective in reducing the problem of inadequate housing in good repair.

Appendix Table 1: Population and Economic Characteristics of the Nation, Detroit,

and the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area

Characteristic

USA

Detroit-Warren-Dearborn MSA

Detroit City

Median household income

$60,336

$58,411

$30,344

Federal poverty rate

13.4%

14.6%

34.5%

Units built before 1950

17.6%

23.1%

57%

Median value of owner-occupied housing unit

$217,600

$171,600

$50,200

Number of occupied housing units

120,062,818

1,723,000

264,360

Owner-occupied units

64%

69%

47%

Population by race

Black

White

Two or more

12.7%

72.3%

3.3%

22%

66%

79%

14.5%

1.7%

Bachelor’s degree or higher

32%

31.1%

14.6%

(Source: American Community Survey, 1-year Estimates)

Page 38 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Appendix 2: Detroit Home Repair Ecosystem Map 2018

Page 39 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

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Danyelle Solomon, Connor Maxwell, and Abigail Castro, “Systemic Inequality: Displacement, Exclusion, and

Segregation,” Center for American Progress (August 2019). Available from:

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2019/08/07/472617/systemic-inequality-displacement-

exclusion-segregation/

Page 40 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Rothstein, Color of Law

Ibid

Laurie Goodman, Jun Zhu, and Rolf Pendall, “Are gains in black homeownership history?” Urban Institute,

February 14, 2017. Available at: https://www.urban.org/urban-wire/are-gains-black-homeownership-history

Ibid; Sarah Burd-Sharps and Rebecca Rasch, “I’m act of the US Housing Crisis on the Racial Wealth Gap Across

Generations,” Social Science Research Council (June 2015). Available from:

https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/discrimlend_final.pdf

Joshua Akers and Eric Seymour, “The Eviction Machine: Neighborhood Instability and Blight in Detroit’s

Neighborhoods,” Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan (June 2019). Available from:

https://poverty.umich.edu/working-paper/the-eviction-machine-neighborhood-instability-and-blight-in-detroits-

neighborhoods-2/

“Introduction and History of the AHS Survey,” United States Census Bureau. Available from:

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/about/ahs-introduction-history.html#Historical

American Housing Survey, Appendix A, Subject Definitions and Table Index. Available from:

https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/2017/2017%20AHS%20Definitions.pdf

“Metropolitan and Micropolitan.” The U.S. Census Bureau. October 2018. Available from:

https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/metro-micro/about.html

Rothstein, The Color of Law

John Gallagher, “In Detroit, more people rent homes than own them,” Detroit Free Press, March 19, 2017.

Available from:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/john-gallagher/2017/03/19/detroit-poverty-

mortgages-economy-homeownership/98957798/

Detroit Data Collaborative, “The Power of Partners: The Detroit Residential Parcel Survey and Neighborhood

Reporting System Project”(2010). Available from:

https://datadrivendetroit.org/files/DRPS/Detroit%20Residential%20Parcel%20Survey%20OVERVIEW.pdf

“Every Neighborhood Has a Future…And It Doesn’t Include Blight.” Detroit Blight Removal Task Force. May

2014. Available from:

http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/1173946/detroit-blight-removal-task-force-plan-

may-2014.pdf

Ibid

Authors’ analysis of the American Community Survey.

Rothstein, The Color of Law

Note: Estimates of inadequate housing for all other races are unavailable. Estimating the share of Black and

white occupied households in Detroit accounts for 95% of all occupied households. These estimates therefore do

not include the share of inadequate households for 5% (13,551) of all occupied households. The number of

inadequate units was calculated by subtracting the number of adequate units from the total number of units in

each race/housing tenure category. The share of adequate and inadequate units was calculated by dividing the

number of adequate or inadequate units by the total number of occupied units by race/housing tenure. We then

apply these same percentages at the Detroit MSA to the number of occupied units in Detroit city by race and

housing tenure, using American Community Survey 2017 1-year estimates. Margin of error on the proportions is

calculated for the 95% confidence interval.

Akers, Eviction Machine

Ibid

Christine MacDonald, “Persistent evictions threaten Detroit neighborhoods,” Detroit News, October 5, 2017.

Available from: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/special-reports/2017/10/05/detroit-evictions-threaten-

neighborhoods-rentals/106315064/

Shannon Van Zandt and William M. Rohe, “The sustainability of low-income homeownership: the incidence of

unexpected costs and needed repairs among low-income home buyers.” Housing Policy Debate 21, no. 2 (2011):

317-341. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232903548_The_Sustainability_of_Low-

income_Homeownership_The_Incidence_of_Unexpected_Costs_and_Needed_Repairs_among_Low-

income_Home_Buyers

Ibid

Page 41 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Christopher E. Herbert and Eric S. Belsky, “The Homeownership Experience of Low-Income and Minority

Households: A Review and Synthesis of the Literature,” U.S. Department of Housing Development, Office of Policy

Development and Research (2006). Available from:

https://www.huduser.gov/portal/Publications/PDF/hisp_homeown9.pdf

Wilhelmina A. Leigh and Danielle Huff, “African Americans and Homeownership: Separate and Unequal, 1940

to 2006,” Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies no. 1 (November 2007). Available from:

https://northstarnews.com/userimages/references/African%20Americans%20and%20Home%20Ownership.Brief

_Joint%20Center%20for%20Political%20Studies.pdf

Ibid

All home repair totals were confirmed by organization representatives. Some of the totals reported may reflect

2018 Fiscal Year totals, while others may reflect 2018 calendar year totals. Additionally, MSHDA's State

Emergency Relief totals are for Wayne County and Detroit Area on Aging's totals include Detroit, Highland Park

Hamtramck, Harper Woods and Five Grosse Pointes.

Within these categories, organizations are either restricted or allowed flexibility for how funds can be used in

ways that many not be clearly communicated publicly. For example, the Michigan Saves Home Energy Loan is

specifically for home energy improvements, but funds can be used for non-energy related improvements when

necessary to complete an energy project. Additionally, for the purpose of categorizing program funds,

weatherization/energy programs, although a separate category, are primarily administered as grants or as

services/equipment provided to homeowners, and typically do not support critical home repairs.

Please refer to our home repair ecosystem graphic for more information.

Several attempts were made to contact Liberty Bank to confirm the number of loans provided for its Home

Restoration and Acquisition Loan Program, but they did not respond as of the date of this report was published.

Diana Elliott, Caroline Ratcliffe, and Emma Kalish, “The Financial Health of Detroit Residents,” The Urban

Institute (October 2016). Available from:

https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/publication/84361/2000940-

the-financial-health-of-detroit-residents_2.pdf

Christine Ferretti, “Detroit home repair loan program tops expectations, but only a third of applicants

accepted,” The Detroit News, February 4, 2019. Available from:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/02/04/detroit-home-repair-loan-program-tops-

expectations/2530602002/

Area Median Income (AMI) is defined as the midpoint of a region’s income distribution - half of households in a

region earn more than the median and half earn less. AMI for each region is updated annually by HUD, and HUD

programs often require that funding is allocated to households 80% AMI or less. However, it is important to note

that many regions have higher median incomes than average incomes in the central city. Therefore, cities seeking

to target lower-income households with certain policies may focus on households less than 60% or even 30% AMI.

In the cities we studied, the income eligibility thresholds for deferred programs were:

• Cleveland up to 30% AMI,

● Milwaukee up to 60% AMI,

● Minneapolis up to 80% AMI,

● Louisville up to 80% AMI (in historically disadvantaged areas),

● And Madison up to 80% AMI.

For an example of a deferred loan program, see the Genesee County Community Development Program:

https://www.gc4me.com/departments/planning_commission/community_development/home_improvement_pr

ogram.php

“Home Rehabilitation Loans,” City of Madison. Available from:

https://www.cityofmadison.com/dpced/economicdevelopment/home-rehabilitation-loans/314/

“Home Improvement Loans,” The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.” Available from:

https://www.ura.org/pages/home-improvement-loans

Forthcoming Poverty Solutions analysis.

American Community Survey (ACS) 2018.

Page 42 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

Elliott, “The Financial Health of Detroit Residents“; “The Quicken Loans Community Fund’s ‘Neighbor to

Neighbor’ Initiative Prevents Record 4,316 Detroit Families from Entering Property Tax Foreclosure in 2018,”

Quicken Loans, May 2, 2019. Available from:

https://www.quickenloans.com/press-room/2019/05/02/quicken-

loans-community-fund-study-shows-2018-property-tax-foreclosures-in-detroit-hit-lowest-level-in-over-a-

decade-company-commits-to-continuing-citywide-effort-to-help-homeowners/

Elliott, “The Financial Health of Detroit Residents”

Bernadette Atuahene and Timothy R. Hodge, “Stategraft,” Southern California Law Review 91, no. 2 (January

2018):263–302. Available from: https://southerncalifornialawreview.com/2018/01/02/stategraft-article-by-

bernadette-atuahene-timothy-r-hodge/; Alexa Eisenberg, Roshanak Mehdipanah, Ted Phillips, and Michele

Oberholtzer, “Preventing Owner-Occupied Property Tax Foreclosures in Detroit: Improving Access to the Poverty

Tax Exemption.” Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan (December 2018). Available from:

https://poverty.umich.edu/files/2018/12/PovertySolutions-PoveryTaxExemption-PolicyBrief-r2.pdf

Christine MacDonald, “Detroiters start to see tax bills slashed under new program,” Detroit News, April 30,

2020. Available from: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2020/04/30/detroiters-start-

see-tax-bills-slashed-under-new-program/3048888001/

John Gallagher, “Few black people get home mortgages in Detroit, data show,” Detroit Free Press, March 22,

2019. Available from:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/john-gallagher/2019/03/21/black-mortgages-

detroit-real-estate-michigan/3165381002/

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) data from program start date in 2015 – June 2019

Eliza Wallace, Eileen Divringi, Keith Wardrip, and Elizabeth Nash, “Technical Appendix: A Repair Cost-Based

Index of Housing Quality,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Available from:

https://www.philadelphiafed.org/-/media/community-development/publications/special-reports/home-repair-

costs-technical-appendix.pdf

Forthcoming Poverty Solutions report

Joshua Akers, Alexa Eisenberg, and Eric Seymour, “Toxic structures: Speculation and lead exposure in Detroit’s

single-family rental market,” Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan (2020)

American Community Survey (ACS), 2018

Christine MacDonald, “Detroit push fails to boost rental inspections.” The Detroit News, January 14, 2019.

Available from:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/01/14/detroit-push-rental-

inspections-fails-increase-compliance/2473755002/

Ibid

JC Reindle, “High demand for new construction trades workers in Detroit,” Detroit Free Press, November 13,

2018. Available from:

https://www.freep.com/story/money/2018/11/13/construction-trades-workers-

detroit/1986685002/

“Housing Resource Guide,” City of Milwaukee (2017). Available from:

https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/citySNP/DCD_HousingResourceGuideweb.pdf

Ryan Ruggiero, “Detroit Home Repair Resource Guide,” Poverty Solutions (September 2019). Available from:

https://poverty.umich.edu/files/2020/03/DETROIT-HOME-REPAIR-RESOURCE-GUIDE.pdf

“Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program,” City of Milwaukee. Available from:

https://city.milwaukee.gov/DCD/NIDC/RentalRehabLoan#.XsWQNpNKjUo

“Home Improvement Loans,” The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh. Available from:

https://www.ura.org/pages/home-improvement-loans

“Minneapolis Home Improvement Programs,” City of Minneapolis. Available from:

http://www2.minneapolismn.gov/cped/housing/WCMSP-213535

“Services: Home Assessments,” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. Available from:

https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/services/maryland-direct-services/home-assessments/

“Rental Rehabilitation Loan Program,” City of Milwaukee. Available from:

https://city.milwaukee.gov/DCD/NIDC/RentalRehabLoan#.XsWQNpNKjUo

Jessica AcMoody, “Fund the Fund: Why Michigan’s Housing and Community Development Fund Needs

Support,” Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, June 13, 2018. Available from:

http://cedamichigan.org/2018/06/michigans-community-development-fund/

“State Housing Trust Fund Revenues 2019,” Housing Trust Fund Project. Available from:

https://housingtrustfundproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/State-htfund-revenue-sources-2019.pdf

Page 43 of 43: A Decent Home: The Status of Home Repair in Detroit

“City Level Models to Advance Healthy Housing,” National League of Cities. Available from:

http://nlc.org/sites/default/files/users/user75/FINAL-Healthy%20Housing.pdf

“Russell Choice Neighborhood Initiative,” LouisvilleKY.gov. Available from:

https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning/russell-choice-neighborhood-initiative

; “Beecher

Terrace,” Vision Russell. Available from: https://visionrussell.org/beecher/

“Healthy Home Evaluator Credential Launches Nationally,” Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, October 6, 2016.

Available from:

https://www.greenandhealthyhomes.org/press_release/healthy-home-evaluator-credential-

launches-nationally/

“Inspections and Assessments: Reports and Guides,” National Center for Healthy Housing. Available from:

https://nchh.org/tools-and-data/standards-and-assessments/inspections-and-assessments-reports-and-guides/

“How States can fund community health workers through Medicaid to improve people’s health, decrease costs,

and reduce disparities,” Families USA, July 2016.

Available from:

http://familiesusa.org/sites/default/files/product_documents/HE_HST_Community_Health_Workers_Brief_v4.pdf

“City Launches Pilot Program to Connect Trade Students with Local Contractors,” Philadelphia Housing

Development Corporation, April 5, 2019. Available from: https://phdchousing.org/news/

Working in Neighborhoods, Building Sustainable Communities. Available from: https://wincincy.org/

“Financial Empowerment Center,” City of Detroit. Available from:

https://detroitmi.gov/departments/department-neighborhoods/financial-empowerment-center-

fec#:~:text=The%20Financial%20Empowerment%20Center%20(FEC,and%20plan%20for%20their%20futures.

“The Real Cost of Home Repairs,” Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and Policy Map. Available from:

https://www.policymap.com/issues/housing-quality/

Author’s analysis of American Community Survey data

Rothstein, Color of Law

Ibid