Affordable Housing: An Introduction to Habitat for Humanity © 2010 Project Lead The Way, Inc.Civil Engineering and Architecture

What is Habitat for Humanity International? Habitat for Humanity International seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. Habitat invites people of all backgrounds, races, and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need.

What is Habitat for Humanity International? Nearly 2 billion people around the world live in slum housing and more than 100 million are homeless. Families left homeless by natural disasters, war and civil unrest often face dire housing situations as they struggle to rebuild their lives.

In 2014 Habitat built more than 300,000 houses in more than 70 countries around the world, providing more than 1.6 million people a safer place to live. Since Habitat was founded in 1976 by Millard and Linda Fuller, more than 5 million people have been served.

International Headquarters Located in Americus, Georgia, USA The administrative headquarters, located in Atlanta, Georgia, provides information, training, and a variety of other support services to Habitat affiliates worldwide.

How Does It Work? Houses built through volunteer labor and donations of money and materials. Habitat builds and rehabilitates simple, decent, and affordable houses with the help of the homeowner (partner) families. Habitat houses are sold to partner families at no profit and are financed with affordable loans. The homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are used to build additional Habitat houses.

Habitat Is Not a Giveaway Program In addition to a down payment and the monthly mortgage payments, homeowners invest hundreds of hours of their own labor—sweat equity—into building their Habitat house and the houses of others.

The first U.S. Habitat house built outside of Georgia was completed in 1979 in San Antonio, Texas. More than half of all Habitat houses are built outside of the United States, many in developing nations.

Types of Habitat Houses Differ Depending on the Region and Needs Attached units where land is expensive Basic two-bedroom unit South-facing windows in colder climate Energy-efficient components

Habitat House Cost? As little as $500 in some developing countries but generally range between $3,000 and $5,000. An average of $50,000 to $80,000 in the United States. The average length of a Habitat mortgage is 20 years in the United States. Source: Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County,

Energy Star Building Since 1995 Habitat for Humanity International has partnered with the Florida Solar Energy Center and the Department of Energy’s Building America program to produce thousands of houses that are energy-efficient, durable, and provide healthy indoor air quality.

The Better Built Program The Better Built program incorporates the best practices adopted by Habitat’s former network, the Green Team. The principles of the Better Built Program remain the same, highlighting energy-efficient, healthy, and environmentally friendly building processes.

Materials Conservation Habitat's attention to resource efficiency starts with the house design. By promoting a building technique known as Optimized Value Engineering, Habitat encourages its affiliates to build houses using designs that use less lumber and reduce material waste.

Sources Habitat for Humanity, Inc., Habitat for Humanity of Seneca County,