Challenges

Picking Battles

Early on it will be important to determine whether preservation of a particular development is feasible or likely, or whether efforts should instead be concentrated solely upon ensuring timely and complete tenant protections. Otherwise, energy and political capital that could have been devoted to buildings with a better chance for preservation will be wasted. Telling the difference, however, is difficult. Doing as much research as possible up-front is the best way to be prepared to make educated choices.

Layers of Bureaucracy

Government agencies at the local, state, and federal levels are involved in preservation and assisted housing. Even within HUD, the Offices of Housing and of Public and Indian Housing have different roles. Keeping track of what all these agencies are doing (or not doing), and what they know about what the others are doing, can be a monumental task.

To keep your head above water, check out the "Bureaucracy Busters" below:

Changing Regulations

New programs, new incentives, and new requirements, along with the defunding or expiring of old ones, are all fairly regular occurrences in the housing preservation world. This can cause both confusion about the present and uncertainty about the future. In Fall 2001, for example, the Mark to Market program came very close to expiring before anyone had a clear sense of whether it would be renewed. The best defense against this is having someone in every preservation coalition who follows these developments closely and can explain them to everyone in non-technical terms.

See the National Housing Law Project web site for current information.