Local elected and public officials are often held responsible for conditions and circumstances over which they have limited control. This is particularly true of housing. Most of the housing units in Fairmont are privately owned and were constructed with private funds. On an increasing scale, however, the public is demanding that public officials control what happens in this largely private housing market by eliminating blight, protecting individual investments, and generating new housing growth to meet economic development needs.

In 2013, Community Partners Research, Inc., was hired by the City of Fairmont to conduct a study of the housing needs and conditions in the City. In 2019, an update to that document was initiated.