7. Housing Stock Available to Persons with Disabilities
An inventory of accessible and adaptable rental units is compiled and available from the Iowa City Housing Authority. The listing of units (July 1999) shows that 860 units are available citywide. This number does not take into account the number of owner-occupied homes that are accessible or adaptable, group homes or human service agency facilities, or new units that may have been completed. Additionally, some of these special needs groups do not require housing that is uniquely modified and they are able to utilize existing housing stock.
Each year the City's Housing Rehabilitation Program and ESA both receive requests and complete projects for accessibility modifications or repairs which enable lower income persons to remain in their housing unit. Approximately 100 calls are received annually from lower income persons needing accessibility modifications or improvements. This provides a low cost, effective method of meeting the needs of some special needs households.