As the United States enters a critical period for affordable housing preservation, the work required extends far beyond financing and construction. Nearly 500,000 homes created through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program are expected to reach their 30-year affordability milestone by the end of the decade, while public housing faces an estimated $90 billion maintenance backlog. For owners and developers, preserving these properties often requires extensive rehabilitation. For the residents who live in them, it can mean temporarily leaving the place they call home.

Natalie Levkovitz has built her career around addressing this often-overlooked part of the development process. After nearly a decade working across affordable-housing development, ownership, and operations, she co-founded Equally Crafted Management with Greg Knight in 2020. Based in Washington, D.C., ECM provides relocation management and resident services across 15 markets in 13 states and Washington, D.C., helping owners coordinate occupied rehabilitation projects while managing compliance, costs, construction schedules, and the individual needs of residents.

In this conversation, Levkovitz discusses why relocation planning must begin long before construction, how resident trust influences project outcomes, and why treating residents as partners is essential to the future of affordable-housing preservation.

Before co-founding Equally Crafted Management, you spent nearly a decade working across different areas of affordable-housing development. How did that experience shape your understanding of the challenges residents face during rehabilitation projects?  

I was fortunate to serve as Chief of Staff for a rapidly growing affordable housing development firm that not only developed properties but also owned and operated them. That experience gave me a unique, bird’s-eye view of every aspect of the business—from development and LIHTC syndication to property management and day-to-day operations.

More importantly, it gave me a firsthand understanding of just how complex resident relocations really are. It’s not just about moving belongings from one place to another. It’s about understanding each resident’s individual needs, routines, concerns, and the impact that temporary displacement can have on their daily lives. I saw the tremendous amount of coordination required between ownership, property management, contractors, and residents to keep a project moving while ensuring residents felt informed, respected, and supported.

That experience shaped the way we built Equally Crafted Management. We recognized that there was a gap in the industry for a company whose sole focus was managing relocations from both an operational and a resident perspective. Today, we approach every project with the understanding that successful relocations aren’t measured only by construction schedules—they’re measured by the experience of the residents going through them.

What specific problem were you and Greg Knight determined to solve when you founded Equally Crafted Management in 2020? 

When Greg Knight and I founded Equally Crafted Management, our goal wasn’t simply to coordinate relocations—it was to make a meaningful impact on residents’ lives during one of the most disruptive times they can experience.

Renovating affordable housing is incredibly important, but the stress of temporarily leaving a home you’ve lived in for 20 years—or navigating the process as a senior with little or no support—can be overwhelming. We wanted to become a source of stability during that transition, ensuring residents felt informed, respected, and genuinely cared for every step of the way.

At the same time, we knew owners and developers needed a partner who was incredibly detail-oriented, understood the complexities of affordable housing, and could find creative, cost-effective solutions without compromising the resident experience. That philosophy continues to guide everything we do. We strive to provide the highest level of service while ensuring every relocation is completed in compliance with all applicable local, state, federal, and Uniform Relocation Act (URA) requirements.

What are the most common and costly mistakes developers make when relocation planning begins too late?  

One of the most common mistakes is underestimating both the complexity and the true cost of relocation. Temporary relocation is much more than paying for a hotel room—it includes moving services, packing supplies, labor, storage, transportation, bulk item disposal, and ongoing resident support. Depending on the project and household needs, relocation costs can easily range from $8,000 to $10,000 per household.

Another challenge is that relocation planning often begins too late in the development process. By the time a relocation consultant is brought in, budgets have already been established, and key decisions have been made. As a result, project teams sometimes find themselves relying more heavily on contingency funds or adjusting their relocation strategy mid-project to address unforeseen costs.

Our biggest piece of advice is to bring a relocation expert into the conversation early. We’ve seen too many projects where relocation is treated as an afterthought, when in reality it impacts the budget, construction schedule, resident experience, and overall success of the project. Having someone at the table from the beginning allows you to ask the right questions, build a realistic budget, identify opportunities to save money, and avoid surprises later. In the long run, it almost always saves time, money, and a lot of unnecessary stress.

How does ECM balance the financial and scheduling requirements of a development project with the medical, mobility, employment, and family needs of individual residents?  

This is really where our expertise shines. Every resident and every household is different, which is why we spend so much time upfront on resident outreach and conducting individual unit and household assessments. Those conversations help us understand each resident’s medical needs, mobility limitations, work schedules, school routines, childcare responsibilities, pets, and any other accommodations they may need during the relocation.

From there, we build a relocation plan around the resident—not the other way around. We also rely on an incredible network of local partners, from movers and transportation providers to hotels and corporate housing, to help minimize disruptions to residents’ daily lives while still keeping the project on schedule. We believe the best relocation plans are the ones that work for both the development team and the families who call the property home.

ECM reports significant reductions in project costs, strong resident retention, and full legal compliance across its engagements. What systems, decisions, or practices have been most important in achieving these results? 

I think it comes down to preparation and creativity. We believe the more planning you do upfront, the fewer surprises you’ll encounter during construction. We spend a tremendous amount of time evaluating every aspect of a relocation—from sequencing and logistics to housing options and resident needs—before the first resident is ever moved.

We’re also constantly looking for creative, cost-effective solutions. That might mean comparing hotels to corporate apartments, negotiating preferred rates with local partners, purchasing moving supplies in bulk, or identifying more efficient ways to sequence relocations. Every project is different, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.

At the end of the day, our goal is always the same: provide residents with the best experience possible while helping ownership control costs, keep construction on schedule, and remain fully compliant with all applicable local, state, federal, and URA requirements.

On one recent project, ECM’s upfront rent-roll analysis reportedly saved the developer more than $288,000. What did your team identify, and what does this example demonstrate about involving relocation specialists early? 

That project is a great example of why it’s so valuable to involve a relocation specialist early. After reviewing the rent roll, construction schedule, and resident demographics, we determined that leasing furnished corporate apartments would be a much more cost-effective solution than relying solely on hotels.

Because the apartments were appropriately sized for each household and included full kitchens, residents were able to prepare their own meals, eliminating the need for meal stipends. They also had enough space to keep their belongings with them, which eliminated storage costs, reduced the risk of property damage claims, and provided much greater flexibility when construction schedules shifted.

In that market, hotel rates averaged approximately $150 per night, or about $4,500 per household for a typical 30-day relocation before taxes. By comparison, we secured corporate apartments for approximately $1,500–$1,800 per month. Even after accounting for utilities and unit-turn cleaning, we were able to reduce housing costs by nearly 50%, resulting in more than $288,000 in savings for the developer while providing residents with a more comfortable temporary home. That project reinforced that the best relocation solutions aren’t always the most obvious—they come from taking the time to evaluate every available option before the project begins.

Resident trust can be difficult to establish, particularly when people are concerned about displacement. How does ECM build trust while remaining transparent about the realities and limitations of a project?  

This is where we truly shine. Building trust and relationships with residents always comes first. We often tell residents, “We’re relocating you—we’re not displacing you.” That distinction is incredibly important. While we recognize that temporary relocation can be stressful, we also remind residents that it’s a short-term inconvenience that leads to long-term improvements in their homes and quality of life.

We also believe in being completely transparent. Construction projects evolve, schedules shift, and unexpected challenges happen. Rather than overpromising, we’re honest about what residents can expect and communicate frequently throughout the process. Most importantly, residents know we’re there for them from beginning to end. We don’t disappear after move day—we stay until the final resident has returned home and the last unit is complete. I think that consistency and commitment are what ultimately earn residents’ trust.

As hundreds of thousands of affordable-housing units approach important rehabilitation and affordability milestones, what risks and opportunities do you see for owners, investors, and communities over the next decade? 

I think we’re entering one of the most significant periods of reinvestment the affordable housing industry has seen in decades. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of affordable housing units are reaching the point where major rehabilitation is no longer optional—it’s necessary to preserve these communities for future generations.

The biggest risk I see is that many owners and investors still underestimate the complexity of occupied rehabilitation. Construction budgets are getting larger, labor and material costs continue to fluctuate, and resident relocation is becoming increasingly complex as housing costs rise and temporary accommodations become more difficult to secure. Without thoughtful planning, these challenges can lead to project delays, budget overruns, resident dissatisfaction, and unnecessary compliance risks.

At the same time, I think there is an incredible opportunity. Owners who invest in thoughtful planning, resident communication, and experienced partners from the beginning will be in a much stronger position to preserve affordable housing while improving the resident experience. Rehabilitation isn’t just about replacing roofs or renovating kitchens—it’s about strengthening communities, extending the life of affordable housing, and ensuring residents can continue living safely and comfortably in the places they call home. I believe the organizations that recognize residents as partners in the process, rather than obstacles to construction, will be the ones that are most successful over the next decade.

Looking ahead, what do you want Equally Crafted Management to become, and what lasting impact would you like the company to have on affordable housing and the residents it serves? 

My hope is that Equally Crafted Management becomes the standard for how resident relocation is approached in affordable housing. I want owners, developers, and housing agencies to recognize that successful relocation isn’t just about moving people from one place to another—it’s about preserving stability during a period of significant change.

I also hope we’ve helped shift the industry’s mindset. For too long, relocation has often been viewed as a box to check or a line item in a construction budget. In reality, it’s one of the most important factors in the success of an occupied rehabilitation project. When residents feel informed, respected, and supported, projects run more smoothly, claims are reduced, compliance is easier to maintain, and communities emerge stronger than they were before.

Most importantly, I want our legacy to be the impact we had on people’s lives. We have the privilege of walking alongside residents during what can be one of the most stressful times they’ll experience in their homes. If families look back and remember that someone genuinely cared, advocated for them, and made a difficult transition a little easier, then we’ve accomplished exactly what we set out to do. If, at the same time, we’ve helped preserve affordable housing for future generations and shown that doing right by residents also makes good business sense, I’ll consider that a success.

Conclusion 

For Levkovitz, the future of Equally Crafted Management is closely connected to a broader change in how the affordable-housing industry approaches rehabilitation. Relocation cannot be reduced to a construction expense or a compliance requirement. It affects whether residents remain connected to their communities, whether construction proceeds according to plan, and whether the long-term preservation of a property succeeds.

As aging buildings require more substantial investment, ECM’s work demonstrates that resident support and operational performance are deeply connected. Early assessments, transparent communication, carefully sequenced moves, and solutions adapted to each household can reduce costs and delays while making a difficult transition more manageable for residents. Levkovitz’s ambition is for this approach to become an industry standard: one in which preserving affordable housing also means protecting the stability of the people living inside it.

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