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According to the article, 5 to 10 percent of all rehabilitation is historic. Within the past 5 years, the tax credit program funded the restoration of 27,851 units for low- and moderate-income households, demonstrating that historic preservation makes a significant contribution to affordable housing. Despite the fact that the Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit offers the most significant funding source for rehabilitation, many developers hesitate to utilize the program due to strict regulations and controls that can exponentially increase construction costs.

The authors suggest that in order to implement effective historic preservation and affordable housing policies, decision makers must have a clear understanding of how some preservation standards can impact housing affordability. One suggestion is to allow more flexibility when considering the rules of historic designation. By creating a tiered structure of historical significance, each building can be demolished or altered depending on the property’s designation, and fund distribution can be better linked to historical significance. The authors also recommend that the tax credit system be altered so that more historical rehabilitation tax credits and investment tax credits can be distributed to affordable housing projects.

The authors explain that zoning regulations and building codes limit the development of affordable housing. Zoning regulations can restrict the ability to change a building’s use for affordable housing. Two examples of such restrictions include an industrial building that currently cannot be converted into a residence and how many jurisdictions prohibit accessory dwellings. Building codes represent another barrier to historic preservation, since, as the authors explain, historic buildings are often held to the standards of new developments. The authors recommend changing the codes and creating separate standards for rehabilitation projects to promote historic rehabilitation.