Inspections and Assessments: Reports and Guides

State of Healthy Housing
This NCHH report assessed the health of housing using 20 key factors from the 54 communities sampled by the American Housing Survey (AHS). Local communities could create their own assessment of housing quality using similar housing quality characteristics, such as interior and exterior leaks, signs of pests, and other factors collected by local public health and code enforcement agencies. [url; NCHH]

Healthy Homes Assessment Tools
CDC has provided an array of tools to assess the health and well-being of residents in a home, including guidelines and checklists developed by local, state, and federal agencies to address issues such as asthma, injury prevention, and property maintenance practices. [url; CDC]

Healthy Housing Inspection Manual
The Healthy Housing Inspection Manual is a model reference tool outlining elements of a holistic home inspection for environmental health, public health, housing, and other professionals. It provides assessment recommendations, including visual assessment and definitions for housing deficiencies; a voluntary health assessment; and links to information about environmental sampling methods, hazards, and issues related to healthy housing. Download the Healthy Housing Inspection Manual. [url, pdf; CDC, 2008]

Healthy Housing Reference Manual
The Healthy Housing Reference Manual, developed by HUD and HHS, provides background on healthy housing criteria and a full range of information about what’s necessary to create healthy housing. It addresses disease vectors’ and pests’ impact on housing, indoor air pollutants, and water management systems. It includes structural guidance for insulation and environmental barriers and much to assess and monitor housing quality. [url, pdf; CDC, 2012]

Housing Adequacy and Quality as Measured by the AHS
This resource evaluates housing quality data and the housing adequacy measure employed in the American Housing Survey (AHS). It identifies key components included in the ZADEQ variable, which summarizes housing quality, and summarizes housing quality information available from the AHS, which could be used to understand housing adequacy. [pdf; HUD, 2013]

American Housing Survey (AHS): A Measure of (Poor) Housing Quality
This HUD publication provides an alternative measure of housing quality. Rather than measuring housing “adequacy,” as commonly determined by the AHS, the authors developed a Poor Quality Index (PQI) using all of the AHS information on housing deficiencies, which measures the level of physical deficiencies in sampled housing units. The broader range of deficiencies found in the PQI provides a more concrete assessment of quality between surveys.
[url, pdf; HUD, 2013]

HUD Housing-Related Health and Safety Hazard Assessment
This resource provides an overview of methods for home inspection and assessment, highlighting specific tools and laying a foundation for a variety of interventions. The assessment utilizes three approaches to identify health and safety hazards: interviews with residents about health and housing concerns; visual assessment; and, as necessary, collecting environmental samples and testing building performance. [pdf; HUD]

HUD Physical Inspection Summary Report
This resource summarizes the protocols, goals, and requirements for the physical property inspections of public housing conducted through the Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), outlining what the inspection covers and how scoring is calculated. [url; HUD]

HUD Uniform Physical Condition Standards (UPCS) Inspection Guide
HUD created this handbook for assessing the physical condition of HUD funded housing, including PHA properties, with assessment system of physical inspection protocols and definitions of deficiencies. [url; HUD]

• Uniform Physical Condition Standard (UPCS) Checklist [pdf]

• Uniform Physical Condition Standard – Voucher (UPCS-V)
  UPCS-V (“V” signifies “Voucher”) is a new inspection protocol under development by HUD to improve tenant safety and enhance oversight of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. It will replace the significantly outdated Housing Quality Standard (HQS) currently in use and allow HUD to have a consistent inspection process across all of its housing assistance programs. UPCS-V will introduce new assessment measures to increase the consistency and objectivity of the inspection process. A demonstration period for the new protocol was scheduled to begin in 2016. [url; HUD]

Integrated Pest Management: Conducting Urban Rodent Surveys
This manual from CDC provides basic information about integrated pest management (IPM), methodology for conducting an assessment of urban rodent infestation, and comprehensive information for public health and housing professionals to implement IPM as a systems approach in the management of pests and vectors.
[pdf; CDC, 2006]

Success with Energy Codes
Success with Energy Codes is a site with guides targeted toward builders and code officials to promote better building. The materials are designed to teach project team members how to implement the installation of all components of a given building properly. Success provides recommended practices to optimize energy savings based on specific regions of the country. Note: The site is still under construction. The national guidelines are finished, but not all information pertaining to individual states or regions has been completed. [url; Success with Energy Codes]