Why Home Repair Programs Are Essential for Preventing Property Vacancy and Abandonment

When people think about addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, strategies like land banks, code enforcement, and property tax enforcement arise as the common tools that help communities address “blight.” Home repair doesn’t immediately come to mind.

However, a community will never address systemic property vacancy and abandonment without investing in home repair. Home repair is a core strategy to stop properties from becoming vacant in the first place.

Despite its importance, home repair is often overlooked in policy conversations—especially in conversations about funding (and how there’s not enough of it). That’s unacceptable, because ignoring deteriorating conditions is what turns small problems into big ones. These big problems drive people out of their homes, create unsafe conditions for neighbors, and cause community decline.

The “D” in VAD: How Deterioration Drives Vacancy

We often use the acronym VAD—which stands for vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties. Many communities focus on the vacant and abandoned part, but deterioration is where most problems begin.

Deterioration means a property is starting to fall apart. A leaky roof. A collapsing porch. An unsafe electrical system. Far from cosmetic issues, these are serious repair needs that make a home unsafe and, eventually, unlivable.

When property owners are unwilling or unable to fix these problems, these issues snowball. The leaky roof leads to mold and structural damage. The collapsing porch is an indicator of a crumbling foundation. The unsafe wiring causes a fire. Residents get sick or hurt. Eventually, the cost of repairs becomes overwhelming. The residents either continue living in increasingly unhealthy and dangerous conditions or are forced to leave. Either way, the property is on a path toward becoming vacant.

Meanwhile, the visible signs of deterioration have cascading impacts on the whole block, lowering nearby property values and frustrating—or even endangering—neighbors.

In a vacant home, deterioration accelerates. Weather damage, pests, and illegal activity turn a fixable problem into a teardown. What could have been prevented with a timely repair now needs demolition (resulting in another vacant lot) or a gut rehab.

This is a problem on a national scale for both homeowners and landlords. Most of America’s housing stock is old—meaning owners need to invest money to bring properties up to modern standards or replace failing systems. Nearly half of all homes built before 1940 have unmet repair needs to the tune of $1,800, and research suggests that median costs of repair are higher among low-income households. As quality, affordable housing moves further out of reach and costs of new construction rise, it becomes more important than ever to preserve and maintain the homes we have.

How Home Repair Programs Prevent Vacancy

The most effective way to prevent a property from becoming vacant is to make it possible for people to keep living there—safely. That’s why home repair programs are essential.

In communities where home values and incomes are lower and housing markets are weaker, home repair comes down to an economic decision. When the cost of repairs is more than the property is worth, some owners forgo needed maintenance. Smaller, well-intentioned landlords in these markets know that low-income tenants cannot afford the higher rent required to offset the cost of a major system repair.

However, if property owners can get help financing repairs, they can fix problems before they escalate. A new roof keeps a family in their home. Fixing structural and electrical issues protects both tenants and their neighbors.

The Complementary Partnership Between Code Enforcement and Home Repair

Code enforcement is one of the most powerful tools communities have to address deteriorated properties. Strategic code enforcement holds property owners accountable for maintaining safe conditions and prevents harm to neighbors. But local governments often rely on a traditional, punitive model of code enforcement focused on issuing citations and collecting fines rather than bringing a property back into compliance.

Unfortunately, this approach often fails in the communities where home repair needs are the greatest. If a code officer cites an elderly or disabled homeowner or well-intentioned landlord who doesn’t have the resources to make repairs, what happens? Often, the fine becomes a lien against the property. If the owner falls further behind, eventually the property may end up in foreclosure or abandonment, with its residents displaced.

But what if a code officer visits a deteriorating property and, instead of simply writing a citation, has a conversation? By talking to the homeowner or landlord and understanding what’s stopping them from making repairs, a code officer can then connect them with home repair resources. This helps property owners who want to make repairs do so—and might lead to a better outcome for the property and the people who live there.

Success also depends on the availability of resources. Our Code Enforcement Training Guide describes how code departments should build relationships with other city agencies and local nonprofits that offer resident assistance to make those types of referrals.

Home repair and code enforcement should work hand in hand not just by identifying problems, but also by identifying solutions. Coordinating these efforts helps communities improve compliance and prevent displacement and vacancy.

Federal Home Repair Resources

At time of publishing, the federal government offers several programs that help local governments and individual homeowners access repair resources. Congress is also considering legislation that would expand support for property repair.

• Community Development Block Grants (CDBG): CDBG is a flexible federal funding stream local governments can use for various eligible activities, including owner-occupied home repair that protects health and safety or weatherizes homes. Local governments can create a program to distribute these funds directly to individuals or to local nonprofit organizations.
• US Department of Agriculture Section 504 Program: For rural communities, the 504 program provides loans to low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes, or grants to elderly low-income homeowners to address health and safety hazards. Some homeowners may be eligible to combine both loans and grants.
• Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP): WAP provides weatherization support (e.g., insulation, efficient appliances) to low-income households to help reduce energy costs. It can also be used to repair or replace heating and cooling systems. States administer the program through local weatherization providers.
• Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Waivers (1915(c) and 1115): Most states offer Medicaid programs under Section 1915(c) and Section 1115 waivers to help elderly and disabled individuals keep living at home. While primarily focused on aging-in-place modifications like ramps and accessibility improvements, some waivers can be used for repairs to HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems that support safe independent living.
• FHA Title 1 and 203(k) Loans: Backed by the federal government, Title 1 loans help low- to moderate-income homeowners finance critical home improvements through loans of up to $25,000 for single-family homes. The 203(k) loan can be used for more extensive renovations and bundles the purchase or refinance of a home with repair costs into a single mortgage.

The 119th Congress is currently considering legislation that would put additional federal funds towards home repair, including:

• ROAD to Housing Act (S. 2651) and Housing for the 21^st Century Act (H.R. 6644): In 2025, the Road to Housing Act that passed the Senate included several provisions for home repair that are not in the House’s version—the Housing for the 21^st Century Act. When the House and Senate reconcile these bills, whole home repair provisions and FHA Title 1 loan increases (as well as crucial assistance for vacant property rehab) must be included if the resulting legislation is to truly address America’s housing needs.
• Neighborhood Homes Investment Act (H.R. 2854 / S. 1686): Reintroduced in April 2025, the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act would create a new federal tax credit to support construction or substantial rehabilitation of single-family homes in distressed communities. The act addresses single-family homeownership and home repair needs in economically distressed and rural areas. Individual homeowners earning below 100 percent of AMI would be eligible for a tax credit of up to $50,000 to cover half the cost of major repairs to their primary residence.

State and Local Home Repair Resources

Many cities and states have developed a patchwork of programs to help residents fix up their homes. Here are a few examples from across the country to explore, invest in, and replicate:

• Repair programs tied to code enforcement: Some cities fund repair programs specifically for homeowners who receive code violations. This ensures that code enforcement also opens the door to help. Lexington, Kentucky’s Housing Repair Assistance Program helps eligible homeowners fix housing issues they were cited for in a Notice of Violations.
• Grant and low-cost loan programs for repairs: Philadelphia’s Restore, Repair, Renew initiative helps homeowners access low-interest loans to fund a range of home repairs that “focus on health, safety, weatherization, accessibility, and quality of life.”
• Partnerships with nonprofit repair organizations: Many communities don’t have enough capacity to run their own repair programs. By identifying and partnering with local and national repair nonprofits—like Rebuilding Together and Habitat for Humanity—cities can leverage outside expertise and resources. The code enforcement department of Kansas City, Missouri partners with their local Habitat for Humanity affiliate. The City’s code enforcement officers knock on doors to execute on a Habitat program called Rock the Block, which results in a dozen homes on a concentrated block being repaired in a single day by hundreds of volunteers.
• Partnerships with private institutions: Living in a deteriorated property has negative long-term health impacts. Residents also risk life and limb from fire or structural collapse. Due to these hazards, private institutions like hospitals have started investing in addressing home repair needs. In Maryland, Atlantic General Hospital teamed up with the Worcester County Health Department and the Chesapeake Housing Mission to provide free home repairs to poverty-level residents. Insurance companies like UnitedHealth Group, Kaiser Permanente, and CVS Health/Aetna have also invested in affordable home production and home repair, citing the link between stable housing and health.
• Data-driven prioritization: A growing number of cities—including Buffalo, New York and Baltimore, Maryland—are using data to identify neighborhoods and residents with the greatest need. Data can help identify homes that are at higher risk of becoming vacant, or households at risk of eviction or homelessness. South Bend, Indiana is building data models to identify indicators of financial hardship (like delinquent water bills) that could predict a household’s vulnerability to eviction or foreclosure, and trigger an upstream service intervention. These “early warning systems” can also identify homes at high risk of becoming vacant based on factors like unpaid property taxes, code violations, or signs of early deterioration.

Every community will have to design repair programs that fit their unique local conditions and community needs. The key point to remember is that intervening early could prevent a resident from displacement or a property from becoming vacant.

Why Community Progress Is Engaging in Home Repair Issues

Community Progress focuses on helping communities prevent and address vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties, making it essential to identify ways to prevent and address deterioration.

Our work already touches home repair in important ways. We provide code enforcement training and technical assistance and offer policy guidance at the city, state, and federal levels to address deteriorated occupied properties.

We are also building partnerships with a growing network of stakeholders who recognize that home repair is a critical piece of community revitalization. We’re talking to and learning from the excellent work of organizations like the National Center for Healthy Housing and Coalition for Home Repair. Together, we’re exploring what it would look like to have a shared strategy of using home repair to stabilize neighborhoods.

Our role in this space is to connect people working on different parts of the system—code enforcement, repair programs, and community development—to help them see how their work fits together.

Conclusion

Home repair programs can prevent further property vacancy, abandonment, and deterioration, and keeping people in their homes helps neighborhoods thrive. In the coming months and years, you’ll see more research, practical tools, and policy guidance from us on home repair as a vacancy prevention strategy. We’ll continue to convene practitioners, share what’s working, and help communities build systems that keep people housed in safe, stable neighborhoods.

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Interested in using home repair to prevent more properties from falling into vacancy and abandonment? We can help you assess opportunities and build strategies for success. Get in touch with us at [email protected].