CFILC SCNetwork Priorities 

HOUSING

CFILC ISSUE BRIEF

The vast majority of housing units in the United States are not accessible to people with disabilities.  Even temporary housing programs and emergency shelters for the homeless regularly turn away people with disabilities because they are not accessible. 

Data from the 1990 National Health Interview Survey indicates that only 2.9 percent of Americans live in homes with any kind of accessibility features such as ramps, extra-wide doors, elevators or stair-lifts, handrails and raised toilets.  According to the same survey, the proportion of American families having at least one member with a disability is 10 times as high -- 29.2%.  Many more American families will face the issue of accessible housing for people with disabilities as relatives age.

There are at least two broad, basic actions that would help ease the crisis in accessible and affordable housing:

• Enact universal design requirements that eliminate the need for special adaptive changes to housing, thus making public and private dwellings accessible to all people.
  
• Provide itemized tax credits and subsidies for modifications where individuals are unable to find affordable housing that accommodates their disability.