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To date, home maintenance and repairs have largely been the sole responsibility of owners. Property owners are tasked with paying for and overseeing a range of structural, electrical and plumbing fixes that keep homes safe and habitable, retain the home’s value, and ensure that the home can pass inspection in the event the owner sells it. This individual investment in our country’s housing stock has helped stave off housing obsolescence one fixed roof or plumbing system at a time.

But as our homes age and repair costs mount, this arrangement is breaking down: recent estimates of unaddressed home repairs in the U.S. come to $189 billion. And those whose homes are disproportionately older and in greater need of repair, often low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners and small building owners, bear the brunt of these mounting expenses and are struggling to afford them.

And this challenge is only growing. Homes that are newly-constructed or are older but in good condition today will require maintenance and repairs tomorrow, and our current system is not equipped to meet this need. Financial assistance in the form of home repair grants and loan products do exist, but are too small in scale and underfunded, to handle the scale of the challenge.

Please join the Future of Land and Housing program at New America on Tuesday, October 20th from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. for an invite-only workshop to explore what a more sustainable and coordinated home repair financing ecosystem in the U.S.—one that recognizes housing as critical public infrastructure—might look like. We’re bringing together a diverse group of leaders from financial institutions, research, philanthropy, and practitioners to identify how repair loans, grants, forgivable loans, and other forms of flexible “soft” financing can be deployed and scaled to address the diverse repair needs of homeowners and housing markets across the U.S.

The workshop will be held at New America’s Office in Washington, DC (740 15th Street, NW). Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The agenda will include a mix of expert panels, breakout sessions, and group discussions. Additional information will be shared in the coming weeks.

Please RSVP by Friday, August 28th. Email Sabiha Zainulbhai ([email protected]) if you have any questions.

This event is made possible thanks to generous support from the Pew Charitable Trusts.