The House Next Door: A Comparison of Residences by Disability Status Using New Measures in the American Housing Survey

Denise W. Hoffman, Gina A. Livermore, Mathematica Policy Research

As with the articles in this issue, this introduction reflects the views of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Using new measures in the American Housing Survey, we document housing differences by disability status. We compare housing and neighborhood characteristics for people with and without disabilities using multivariate analyses to control for individual-level characteristics. Our impact estimates suggest that people with disabilities live in housing units and neighborhoods with significantly less desirable characteristics. Low-cost mortgages and housing voucher receipt, however, have positive effects on the housing and neighborhood characteristics of people with disabilities. Other forms of housing assistance, particularly subsidized housing and rent control, are associated with less desirable residences.