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HARRISBURG — A popular program that helps Pennsylvania homeowners with the cost of essential repairs did not receive additional funding in this year’s state budget, despite overwhelming demand in many counties.
Nearly 18,200 homeowners who applied for assistance from the Whole-Home Repairs program were placed on a waiting list due to a lack of available funding, according to a survey conducted by the Department of Community and Economic Development this spring.
“We’re very disappointed, beyond disappointed,” said Rachel Goodgal, government affairs manager for the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance, a trade association that advocated for more funding for the program.
“I think most rank-and-file legislators can see that it has a lot of benefits and is valuable to their constituents.”
The Whole-Home Repairs program was created in 2022 with bipartisan support and $125 million in federal pandemic relief. The money helps homeowners fix major problems, such as leaky roofs and broken windows, and can also be used to make properties more energy efficient or accessible to people with disabilities. Eligibility is determined based on income.
Pennsylvania has one of the oldest housing stocks in the U.S. As of 2022, a quarter of occupied housing units in the state were in structures built before 1940, according to a recent state study. found.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal included an additional $50 million for the program, which he has called an “extraordinary success.” But the final budget deal negotiated with the divided state legislature included no money for the program.
The immediate impact will vary from county to county. Some have already given out all available funds, while others have opened applications more recently and still have money left.
“By blocking funding this year, Republicans have left thousands more families vulnerable,” 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 end it.”
Kate Flessner, a Republican spokeswoman for the state Senate, said in a statement that while many programs sought funding in this year’s budget process, “the substantial investments made to fund education and human services programs became the focus.”
This is not the first time lawmakers have been unable to agree on how to allocate more money to the home repair program. due to receiving Last year’s state budget included $50 million, but lawmakers failed for months to reach agreement on additional legislation to authorize that spending. The final agreement on those bills, reached in December, did not include more funding for the program.
Some of the opposition this year stemmed from Senate Republicans’ concerns about replacing one-time federal funds with state dollars, said state Sen. Nikil Saval, a progressive Democrat from Philadelphia who first proposed the initiative.
This year’s budget cycle Has been marked by partisan disagreements over how much of Pennsylvania’s $14 billion budget surplus should be spent, with Democrats calling for more state investment and Republicans tending to oppose more spending.
Supporters argue that the program ultimately saves money by helping prevent homelessness and allowing older residents to remain in their homes longer.
In many counties, the demand for financing has been enormous.
Dauphin County closed applications after just four hourswhile Indiana County received three times more applications than it could fill.
Allegheny County received more than 4,000 applications from eligible homeowners but was only able to fund about 4%, an administrator said. said Democratic lawmakers at a hearing earlier this year.
Most of the work paid for by the program addresses “significant system failures” that could otherwise lead to properties sitting vacant, Dan Sullivan, who works at the nonprofit that oversees the county’s program, said at the hearing.
“If we can’t fix these homes, there will be a huge domino effect.”
This year’s budget includes a significant increase in funding for a separate state program which provides flexible grants to local governments, nonprofits and developers to build affordable housing, among other uses. Funding for the program will increase from $70 million in the current fiscal year to $100 million by 2027.
Aaron Zappia, director of government affairs for the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, called the increase “monumental.” As the state’s housing crisis has worsened in recent years, state lawmakers have begun to show a new level of interest, he said.
The budget also includes smaller allocations for homeless assistance, legal representation for tenants facing eviction proceedings and a new emergency housing program for local governments.
Supporters of the Whole-Home Repairs program say they plan to continue pushing for more money, arguing that the demand for funding demonstrates the need for a long-term solution.
Zappia said state programs often grow in fits and starts, but he said he would be surprised if lawmakers ultimately didn’t agree to invest more in the program.
“My feeling is that eventually they will find some kind of funding for it,” he said.
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