In the Housing Act of 1949 Congress pledged, “a decent home and suitable living environment for every American family.” Within the City of West Des Moines there are a variety of housing options; from single-family to multi-family; both rental and owner-occupied. According to City records, West Des Moines has over 30,000 housing units; sixty-five percent of which are owner-occupied and thirty-five percent are renter-occupied. Housing is an essential and vital asset to the City of West Des Moines.

Goals

The City of West Des Moines has five overall goals for meeting housing and community development needs between 2015 and 2020 (per the City’s Consolidated Plan):

Produce and preserve both renter and owner-occupied affordable housing;

Address infrastructure needs that are tied to affordable housing or job creation;

Reduce the number of homeless families and individuals through homeless prevention programs

Maintain the City's ability to support the provision of special needs services, specifically as they are tied to affordable housing or job creation, meet the most urgent needs in the community and reduce demands on other city services; and

Explore the possibility of leveraging the initial allocation (or allocations) to have a larger initial impact.

Assistance Programs

The City of West Des Moines offers the following housing & community development programs:

• Historic West Des Moines Housing Fund Home Improvement Program 
• Historic West Des Moines Housing Fund Down Payment Program 
• Radon Mitigation Program
• Neighborhood Finance Corporation
• Metro Home Improvement Program (now administered by MIPA)
• Dallas County Local Housing Trust Fund, Inc. (DCLHTF) -  (now administered by MIPA) Available to homeowners in Dallas County
• Community Development Block Grant Program - Funds various community development programs