Helping Enterprise Community Partners Assess the Health of Aging Supportive Housing

LCS recently had the opportunity to support Enterprise Community Partners on an important initiative examining the physical conditions of aging permanent supportive housing (PSH) in Los Angeles. Their new report, “Avoiding the Domino Effect,” sheds light on a pressing but often overlooked issue: how older supportive housing properties, so essential to ending homelessness, can quietly slip into disrepair without early interventions.

What was this project about?

Across Los Angeles, many PSH properties — often decades old — are critical to providing stable homes for individuals who have experienced homelessness. However, these same properties face challenges tied to aging infrastructure, underfunded reserves, and rising operational demands. Over time, deferred maintenance doesn’t just affect buildings — it impacts residents, staff capacity, and the long-term mission of supportive housing.

Enterprise wanted to go deeper than typical risk assessments. They sought to understand, in concrete terms, the condition of these buildings, where vulnerabilities lie, and how owners could prioritize improvements to sustain these homes into the future.

How did we contribute?

Enterprise engaged LCS to conduct detailed physical needs assessments (PNAs) across a sample of at-risk PSH sites. Working closely with nonprofit owners, we visited properties, walked sites with operations teams, and documented the state of key building systems — everything from roofs and HVAC to fire safety and site conditions.

We then analyzed the findings to help each owner understand where their immediate and midterm needs stood. Beyond simply identifying issues, we provided technical guidance on how to incorporate these insights into short- and long-term portfolio management — whether planning for replacements, addressing safety concerns, or improving maintenance practices.

Table displaying average need ratings for building elements by condition, urgency, safety, and cost. Includes a detailed legend below.

"This report owes much to the dedication and expertise of Rod Lane, Principal at Lane Consulting Services (LCS). With decades of experience in affordable and supportive housing design and construction management, Rod’s deep commitment to preserving this vital housing stock was pivotal. He and his team were instrumental in conducting the physical needs assessments (PNAs) of the sampled at-risk permanent supportive housing (PSH) properties, forming the basis of this report." - Enterprise Community Partners

Why does this matter?

What emerged from this work is a clear picture of how proactive attention to building health is essential for sustaining supportive housing. Without it, even well-managed properties can begin a slow decline that becomes harder and costlier to reverse, ultimately threatening residents’ stability. This project highlighted the importance of not only investing in new housing but also preserving and strengthening the supportive housing we already have. It also underscored why realistic, well-funded maintenance plans and reserve strategies are so critical — to avoid that “domino effect” where small problems compound into larger crises.

So what will it take in financial terms? Our analysis found the following:

Table showing estimated short-term repair costs and immediate needs to maintain building health.

Looking ahead

We’re proud to have contributed our field experience to this effort. Ensuring that supportive housing remains a strong foundation for residents requires collective work — from owners and operators to lenders, policymakers, and technical partners. We’re committed to being part of that, helping organizations take a clear-eyed look at their buildings today so they can keep serving communities for decades to come.

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