Acolin and Walter Examine Maintenance Costs in Rental Housing
Posted: 3/28/2025 ()
There is limited empirical evidence on how maintenance costs vary across units and building types, and the extent to which tenant wear and tear contribute to these expenses. In a recent paper published in Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, CSDE Affiliates Arthur Acolin and Rebecca Walter (Real Estate) leverage unit-level work order data from 1,745 tenancy spells across four housing providers to examine factors influencing maintenance expenditures. Among other findings, the study shows that unit and building characteristics have a greater impact than tenant behavior. Read the full study here.