Healthy Rowhouse Project

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Addressing Health Through Home Repair

Ensuring residents live in “healthy” housing is a cornerstone of public health policy. There is significant evidence that repairing substandard home conditions can improve the health of the children and adults living in the house.

The specific interventions recommended to improve the health of the occupants while stabilizing their housing vary from program to program, but most models prioritize the seven principles of a healthy home developed by the National Center for Healthy Housing’s National Healthy Homes Training Center. These seven principles focus on repairs that ensure the home is:

  1. Dry
  2. Clean
  3. Safe
  4. Ventilated
  5. Pest-Free
  6. Contaminant-Free
  7. Maintained

The studies cited below describe findings as to how home improvements that improve the health of a home can lower emergency room visits and health care costs, reduce school absenteeism, and improve the health and well-being of adults and children living in a home dramatically.