NOAH Preservation & Research
Naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH), or unsubsidized, privately owned rental housing, is a critical part of our affordable housing landscape.
The majority of low and moderate-income residents depend on privately owned, unsubsidized rental apartments to provide them with safe and quality housing, with NOAH comprising 75% of low-cost housing in the United States. Research has shown that the loss of lower-cost NOAH rental units drives affordable housing pressures in cities across the country. Since 2007, the Compact has conducted research with deep stakeholder engagement to investigate NOAH preservation, including:
Breaking Up the NOAH Monolith Research
In 2022, the Preservation Compact was awarded $250,000 by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to launch a two-year research project in partnership with the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. This project focused on market-based strategies to preserve unsubsidized affordable rental housing and culminated in an event featuring experts in housing.
NOAH Preservation Clearinghouse
In 2021, the Preservation Compact created a NOAH Clearinghouse to gather NOAH preservation tools from across the county. In 2024, the clearinghouse was expanded and improved to be an interactive webtool, enabling practitioners, policymakers, and advocates to easily navigate and understand various NOAH preservation approaches from across different market types.
PreservationLab: NOAH Risk Analysis: What, Where, Who, and When
This Lab focuses on the Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) stock in Chicago by examining building types, neighborhood dynamics, ownership, and short- and long-term risk factors. A better understanding of these elements will drive optimal preservation strategies.
Best Practices for NOAH Owners
The Preservation Compact is a policy collaborative that develops programs and policies to preserve affordable rental housing. Housed at Community Investment Corporation (CIC), a non-profit CDFI that has financed affordable rental housing for 50 years, the Compact has compiled best practices for owners to preserve the quality and affordability of their buildings.
NOAH News
Navigating PreserveNOAH.com Webinar
The Preservation Compact, the Institute for Housing Studies (IHS) at DePaul University, and DataMade reveal a new webtool designed to facilitate evidence-based decision-making in preservation strategies for Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) during the webinar, Market Data Insights for NOAH Preservation.
This webinar served as a follow-up to the Read more
Event – Emerging Strategies to Preserve Unsubsidized Affordable Rental Housing
On October 2, 2024, the Preservation Compact, The Institute for Housing Studies (IHS), and The Real Estate Center at DePaul University partnered to present an exploration of innovative and effective strategies to preserve unsubsidized affordable rental housing, often referred to as naturally occurring affordable housing, or NOAH, featuring panels that highlighted:
Diverse Market Solutions: Practitioners across different […]
Read morePreserving Owners to Preserve NOAH: Markets, People, and Strategies in Chicago and Los Angeles
Webinar Overview
The Preservation Compact, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and the City of Chicago Department of Housing discussed preserving Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH).
This webinar highlighted two sets of NOAH preservation strategies: a new initiative in South Los Angeles to support local rental property owners with smaller portfolios, and several existing NOAH efforts in Chicago. […]
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