When the world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.Malala Yousafzai

Policy

Each year, the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania recommends to the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor’s office legislative and regulatory fixes to ensure every family in the Commonwealth has a safe, decent, and affordable home and community. Additionally, the Housing Alliance works with numerous national organizations to ensure adequate funding for housing stability services and legislation that promotes housing affordability.

During the 2021-2022 legislative session, the Housing Alliance will actively work with the Pennsylvania General Assembly to

• Increase state funds for affordable housing development and preservation, blight remediation, and supportive services
  • Support an increase in state realty transfer tax dollars to the state housing trust fund or PHARE (PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund)[Achieved]

• Prevent evictions
  • Support and monitor the implementation of any new emergency rental and utility assistance programs to ensure federal funds are fully expended to help renters impacted by COVID-19 as well as landlords who are struggling without reliable rental income
    • Ask the General Assembly to amend Act 1 of 2021 to lengthen dates for the program to align with the American Rescue Plan’s extension of dates [Achieved]
    • Create a new emergency rental program from the American Rescue Plan funds that mirrors guidance from the U.S. Treasury [Achieved]
    • Have the American Rescue Plan funds for homeowner’s assistance pass through to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency [Achieved]
    • Develop an emergency rental assistance program to help tenants and landlords after the pandemic as subsided
  • Identify financial and other types of incentives to rent to homeless and other vulnerable populations for landlords who are struggling themselves as an impact of the pandemic and / or due to the nature of a small business

• Prioritize affordable housing development and preservation
  • Secure $10 million for the Pennsylvania Housing Tax Credit (Act 107 of 2020) [Achieved]
  • Align state prevailing wage law with federal exemptions that exclude residential housing projects with less than eight units

• Improve housing infrastructure
  • Prioritize home repair to support homeowners to remain in their homes and age in place as well as to prevent blight
  • Expand legislation giving local governments more tools to tackle blight
    • Support various legislative efforts to amend existing laws that will ensure local governments can have numerous tools to tackle blight

• Incentivize collaboration between the housing and health sectors
  • Establish a fully funded Supportive Housing Services benefit within Medicaid to make it possible to use Medicaid dollars for the supportive services component of permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness

During the 2021-2022 session of the U.S. Congress, the Housing Alliance will be working with our national partners to

• Preserve and increase resources for federal affordable housing programs serving extremely low-income families
  • Support additional funding for federal programs

• Promote equitable access to affordable housing and advance fair housing