LIFE-CYCLE COSTS OF HOUSING FOR THE MENTALLY-ILL

This paper estimates the life-cycle costs of housing for persons with mental illness using 5-year and 30-year holding periods and discount r ates of 3.5, 5.75, and 8.0%. Life-cycle costs are between 5 and 7% hig her in buildings occupied only by mentally ill tenants compared to bui ldings with no mentally ill tenants. However, the economies of scale i n maintenance and repair that exist in buildings occupied by the non-m entally ill are not observed in buildings with mentally ill tenants. A dditionally, buildings located in lower-quality neighborhoods have low er life-cycle costs when the tenants are mentally ill, just the revers e of the case for the general population. (C) 1997 Academic Press.