U.S. Census Bureau 1

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued May 2001

1999

AHB/01-1

Out of Order

Housing Profile

American

Housing

Brief

U.S. Department of Housing

and Urban Development

OFFICE OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT

AND RESEARCH

This brief presents findings from the 1999

American Housing Survey. The Census

Bureau conducts this survey for the Department of Housing and Urban Development

with the occupants of 47,000 housing units

across the United States. Although Americans expect their homes to be warm and

dry, and the power, water, and sewage systems to work when needed, breakdowns

and other problems occur.

Types of problems: Blown fuses

and water leaking into their

homes were some of the troubles

Americans encountered.

Of the country’s 103 million occupied housing units in 1999, about one in eight (12 percent) had water leak into their home from

the outside within the past 12 months. This

proportion was slightly more than had

power failures — fuses

blown or circuit breakers tripped in the past

3 months — at 11 percent. Water leaks (in

the past 12 months)

from sources inside the

unit, such as pipes, occurred in slightly fewer

homes — nearly 10 percent. Less frequent

problems were: uncomfortably cold home temperatures during the

last winter (7 percent);

or within the last

3 months, water supply

stoppages (4 percent),

toilet breakdowns for all

toilets in the home

(3 percent), and sewer or septic tank breakdowns (2 percent).

Overall, one in three American households

encountered a recent breakdown of the sort

mentioned above. But, only a few households (slightly more than one in ten) had two

or more different types of these problems.

Some homes did suffer from the same problem over and over. Over one in four (27 percent) of the units with power failures reported that this breakdown had happened

three or more times in the last 3 months.

Tenure: Homeowners were more

likely than renters to have water

leaking into their homes.

Thirteen percent of homeowners and

10 percent of renters had water seeping (or

gushing) into their homes. However,

Figure.

Percent of Households With Breakdowns in 

the Last 12 Months: 1999

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey: 1999.

Water leak from outside

Fuses blown

Water leak from inside

Uncomfortably cold

Water supply breakdown

Toilet breakdown

Sewer or

septic breakdown

Owners

Renters

1.6

2.3

1.7

5.1

3.9

5.6

5.6

11.2

8.0

12.7

11.3

11.3

13.3

10.4
2 U.S. Census Bureau

renters were generally more likely

than owners to suffer breakdowns

in their homes. Owners and renters were equally likely — 11 percent — to report blown fuses. The

figure compares the proportions of

owners and renters experiencing

each type of breakdown.

Structure’s age: Aging

homes were more likely to

have breakdowns, but even

newer units had some

problems.

Newer was better for some of the

types of breakdowns. Units built in

the last 10 years (1990-99) were

about half as likely, as those built 60

or more years ago (before 1940), to

have had water leak in recently from

the outdoors — 9 percent compared

with 19 percent. Power failures were

also less common in newer than

older homes — 9 percent compared

with 14 percent. However, not all

breakdowns were concentrated in

the older buildings. The likelihood

of sewer and of toilet breakdowns

showed only small differences across

all ages of homes (see Table 1). Water supply interruptions were somewhat more common in homes built

in the 1970s than in those from the

1920s.

Maintenance: Homeowners

with more kinds of

breakdowns also spent

more on routine

maintenance.

Twenty-one percent of homeowners

with no problems or with only one

type of breakdown reported they

spent nothing on routine maintenance in a typical year. About

14 percent of those with two or

more different breakdowns spent

nothing. Among owners who estimated any spending on maintenance, those with two or more sorts

of problems paid a median cost of

$505 (the remainder paid a median

of $370). The higher figures for

homes with problems may partly reflect the cost of fixing the breakdowns.

Accuracy of the Estimates

Statistics from surveys are subject to

sampling and nonsampling error. All

comparisons presented in this report

have taken sampling error into account and meet the U.S. Census

Bureau’s standards for statistical significance. Nonsampling errors in surveys may be attributed to a variety of

sources, such as how the survey was

designed, how respondents interpret

questions, how able and willing

respondents are to provide correct

answers, and how accurately the answers are coded and classified. The

Census Bureau employs quality control procedures throughout the production process — including the overall design of surveys, the wording of

questions, review of the work of interviewers and coders, and statistical

review of reports. However, because

of methodological differences, use

caution when comparing these data

with data from other sources.

For information on the source of data

and the accuracy of estimates, including the use and computation of

standard errors, see the statement

from the 1999 American Housing

Survey, “Appendix D— Errors” at

www.census.gov/hhes/www/

housing/ahs/meth.html

Contact:

Barbara T. Williams

301-457-3235

E-mail: ahsn@census.gov

Detailed tabulations can be found

on the AHS section of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/hhes/www/

housing/ahs/pubs.html

Table 1.

Occurrence of Selected Housing Breakdowns in the Last 12 Months, 

by Year Structure Was Built

Before 

Selected housing breakdowns 1920 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

Sewer or septic breakdown............... 2% 2% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 1% 1%

All toilets not working....................... 3% 3% 3% 4% 3% 3% 3% 2% 2%

Water supply breakdown................... 4% 3% 4% 4% 4% 4% 5% 5% 5%

Uncomfortably cold last winter......... 11% 9% 9% 8% 8% 7% 6% 5% 6%

Water leak from inside....................... 10% 12% 11% 10% 9% 10% 10% 10% 7%

Fuses blown/breakers tripped.......... 14% 14% 14% 13% 12% 10% 10% 10% 9%

Water leak from outside................... 20% 18% 17% 15% 13% 11% 10% 10% 9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Housing Survey: 1999.