Pennsylvania’s Whole Home Repair program does not receive additional funding

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HARRISBURG — A popular program that helps Pennsylvania homeowners cover the costs of needed repairs did not receive a boost in this year’s state budget, despite overwhelming demand in many counties.

Nearly 18,200 homeowners who applied for assistance through the Whole-Home Repairs program were placed on a waiting list due to a lack of available funds, according to a spring survey by the Department of Community and Economic Development.

“We are very disappointed — more than disappointed,” said Rachel Goodgal, government affairs manager for the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, an industry association that has pushed for more funding for the program.

“I think most rank-and-file lawmakers see that it has a lot of merit and is valuable to their constituents.”

The Whole-Home Repairs program was created in 2022 with bipartisan support and $125 million in federal pandemic aid. The money helps homeowners fix major problems like leaky roofs and broken windows, and can also be used to make properties more energy productive or accessible to people with disabilities. Eligibility is based on income.

Pennsylvania has one of the oldest housing stocks in the U.S. According to a recent state study, in 2022, one-quarter of the state’s occupied housing units were in buildings built before 1940. found.

Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal included an additional $50 million for the program, which he called “extremely successful.” But the final budget deal negotiated with a divided state legislature did not include money for the program.

The immediate impact will vary by county. Some have already distributed all available funds, while others have opened applications recently and still have money.

“By blocking funding this year, Republicans have left thousands more families in harm’s way,” Mary Collier, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Stands Up, a progressive advocacy group, said in a statement. “You block funding for a program when you try to kill it.”

Kate Flessner, a spokeswoman for the state Senate Republican Party, said in a statement that while many programs sought funding in this year’s budget process, “significant investments in funding for education and social service programs were the focus.”

This is not the first time lawmakers have been unable to agree on more money for the home repair program. due to receiving $50 million in last year’s state budget, but lawmakers couldn’t agree for months on additional legislation to authorize that spending. The final agreement on that legislation, reached in December, didn’t include more funding for the program.

Part of the opposition this year stemmed from concerns among Republican senators about replacing one-time federal funding with state dollars, said state Sen. Nikil Saval, a progressive Democrat from Philadelphia who first proposed the initiative.

This year’s budget cycle was marked due to partisan differences over how much of Pennsylvania’s $14 billion budget surplus should be spent, with Democrats calling for more state investment and Republicans opposing increased spending.

Supporters of the program say it ultimately saves money by helping prevent homelessness and allowing older residents to stay in their homes longer.

In many counties, the demand for financing was huge.

Dauphin County closed applications after just four hourswhile Indiana County received three times more applications than it could accommodate.

Allegheny County received more than 4,000 applications from eligible homeowners but was able to fund only about 4% of them, the county administrator said. he said Democratic lawmakers at a hearing earlier this year.

Much of the work funded by the program is intended to fix “serious systemic failures” that could otherwise result in properties being abandoned, Dan Sullivan, an employee of the nonprofit that oversees the county program, said at the hearing.

“If we don’t fix these homes, there will be a huge domino effect.”

This year’s budget includes a significant boost in funding for separate state program which offers adaptable grants to local governments, nonprofits and developers to build affordable housing, among other things. Funding for the program will boost from $70 million in the current fiscal year to $100 million by 2027.

Aaron Zappia, director of government affairs for Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, called the boost “monumental.” As the state’s housing crisis has worsened in recent years, state lawmakers have begun to show a fresh level of interest, he said.

The budget also includes reduced funding for homeless assistance, legal representation for tenants facing eviction and a fresh social housing programme for local governments.

Whole-Home Repairs supporters say they plan to continue pushing for more money, arguing that the demand for such funding shows the need for a long-term solution.

Zappia said state programs often grow in leaps and bounds, but added he would be surprised if lawmakers didn’t ultimately agree to invest more in the program.

“I think they will eventually find some funding for it,” he said.

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