Addressing Pennsylvania’s Contractor Shortage: Documenting Emerging Practices to Attract and Incentivize Contractors

Join us for a Virtual Policy Briefing on Friday, May 17th at 10:00am to learn more about the state of housing policy in PA, HAP’s legislative priorities, the state budget, and advocacy efforts. 

Register Here!

Our Budget Priorities

  • Raising the cap on the PHARE program remains our top budgetary ask in 2024. With the cap currently at $60 million, we are seeking to increase the cap to $100 million.
  • Funding Whole Home Repairs with $50 million in state funding.
  • $20 million for new homelessness assistance program grants modeled after successful local programs.

HAP’s homelessness prevention proposal aims to duplicate successful local programs.

In the face of rising rents and the corresponding increase in housing insecurity, HAP has identified several county programs reporting outsized results in preventing eviction and homelessness.  We are proposing state investment to help continue and duplicate homeless assistance programs that utilize legal aid, direct assistance, mediation, and resource navigation. 

Successful eviction prevention programs in Pennsylvania help restore the landlord tenant relationship and get both sides working together. Assistance organizations are working with tenants and landlords resulting in landlords withdrawing or settling eviction cases at significantly higher rates or engaging in landlord tenant mediation. In four counties the percentage of cases withdrawn or settled by the landlord has on average increased by 25% with one community experiencing increases as high as 50%. Targeted landlord-tenant mediation programs are resulting in 85 -98% of mediations ending with a successful agreement between both parties.

Specifically, we are seeking a state appropriation of $20 million as a pilot investment to make grants to communities positioned to duplicate successful programs. Each local program will be required to present a plan that includes direct assistance, dispute settlement, and resource navigation. Each program will make a report to the agency and collectively report to the General Assembly.

Bills Introduced to Limit Access to Eviction Records

Open eviction records prevent tenants from obtaining safe, affordable housing due to the automatic screening process removing any rental applicant with an eviction filing.  Prior financial hardship should not be a permanent obstacle to obtaining a basic human need.  Each year, about 20,000 Pennsylvania renters acquire eviction records without ever being evicted—their cases are withdrawn, settled, dismissed, or found for the defendant. 

Bills have been introduced to correct this injustice and de-facto punitive measure against tenants facing hardship. 

HB 1769 (Reps Smith-Wade-El, Fiedler, Harris, Krajewski) would place all eviction filings under an order of limited access until the tenant loses their case in court. When the court finds for the plaintiff, the eviction record would become accessible. After 7 years, all eviction filings would be placed under an order of limited access.  The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on March 25th.

SB 1137 (Sen. Saval, Costa, Schwank) is the Senate companion bill to HB 1769 and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Zoning Reform Legislation Introduced in House and Senate

Three bills have been introduced to broadly reform land use in the Commonwealth, providing for increased density / multifamily development where it was previously limited by local zoning ordinances.

SB 1126 (Sen. John DiSanto) would grant the automatic right to use manufactured housing and accessory dwelling units in single-family zoning districts. For municipalities with larger populations, medium-density housing will also be permitted by right. The legislation will also ensure onerous minimum lot sizes and parking space requirements don’t interfere with housing affordability.  This bill was referred to the Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee on April 5, 2024.

HB 2045 (Rep. Siegel) would permit duplex, triplex, and quadplex developments where zoning is for single family homes.  The bill was referred to House Local Government on February 20th.

HB1976 would permit multifamily housing to be developed on land zoned commercial.  The bill was referred to House Local Government on March 18th.

Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee Advances Blight Bills

On Wednesday, April 10th, the Pennsylvania Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee, chaired by Senator Frank Farry, approved two bills aimed at fighting blight.

HB 1207—Rep. Freeman:  Would permit a municipality of any size to establish a land bank. 

HB 775—Rep. Tim Twardzik— Establishes the “Vacant Property Registration Act” that allows communities to create and maintain a vacant property registration, which is a blight fighting, smart growth tool used to stabilize and re-develop communities.

This month, we highlight two new developments

To see all the legislation that we are prioritizing and tracking, visit https://housingalliancepa.org/policy-agenda/

Homelessness Prevention Initiative

Homelessness and eviction prevention demand more attention from state lawmakers as rental rates continue to climb and more families experience housing instability in the absence of pandemic era assistance.  According to the US Government Accountability Office, a $100 increase in median rent is associated with a 9% increase in the estimated homelessness rate. 

The Housing Alliance has identified several homelessness prevention programs throughout the Commonwealth with outsized positive outcomes.  HAP is seeking to demonstrate the effectiveness of these programs both in terms of stabilizing families and future, generational cost savings in terms of social services and education outcomes.

Specifically, our proposal will require each applicant to present a plan that includes landlord / tenant mediation, expanded legal representation, and / or direct assistance.  Each program will make a report to the agency and collectively report to the General Assembly. 

Zoning Reform Legislation Introduced

Additional legislation has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to address the shortage of affordable housing through zoning reforms. 

HB 2045:  This legislation would revise the Municipalities Planning Code to require cities, boroughs, towns and townships with more than 5,000 in population to permit the use of duplex, triplex and fourplex housing in areas currently zoned for single-family residences only. This would increase the number of multi-family residential units available in Pennsylvania.

HB 1976:  This legislation would revise zoning laws to allow multi-family housing and mixed-use development in urban areas zoned for office, retail and parking with existing water and sewer systems.

These bills have been referred to the House Local Government Committee. 

State Senator John DiSanto is expected to soon introduce legislation to address zoning reforms.  The proposal is expected to grant the automatic right to use manufactured housing and accessory dwelling units in single-family zoning districts. For municipalities with larger populations, medium-density housing will also be permitted by right. The legislation will also ensure onerous minimum lot sizes and parking space requirements don’t interfere with housing affordability.

This month, I want to spotlight a powerful story that highlights the many reasons to meaningfully engage people with lived experience – hint, it is because it matters to their overall sense of self.

“You all made me feel like I am an important person again.”
 
Thanks to Dana Hanchin, President and CEO, HDC Mid-Atlantic, for sharing this powerful story and words that reminds us that engaging people with lived experience matters to their overall sense of themselves.
 
To read the full story, please click here.

In partnership,

 
Phyllis Chamberlain
Executive Director

Governor Shapiro Proposes Budget that Invests in Housing

On Tuesday, February 9th, Governor Josh Shapiro presented his 2024-25 State Budget proposal to the General Assembly which includes historic investments in housing, home repair, homeless assistance, and eviction prevention.

The proposed budget includes:

  • Increasing the PHARE program funding cap to $100 million by 2027-28, with $10 million per year increases
  • $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs Program
  • $10 million for the Homeless Assistance Program
  • $5 million for legal representation in eviction proceedings
  • $5 million to local governments for rapid response to emergency housing situations

PHARE

For the first time in the history of the Pennsylvania Housing and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) a Governor has formally proposed increasing the funding cap on the program.  This is a testament to PHARE’s popularity and effectiveness in addressing a variety of housing needs across the Commonwealth.  The Housing Alliance and our partners have worked directly with the Governor’s staff to ensure that PHARE would emerge as one of the Shapiro Administration’s housing priorities.

As we have previously reported, a PHARE cap increase to $100 million has been advanced in both the House and Senate this session.  Over the next few months, it will be critical to keep PHARE in our conversations with legislators. 

Whole Home Repair

The Governor has also asked for $50 million for the Whole Home Repairs program.  Now armed with real world evidence of good work and high demand for the program, we have everything needed for meaningful conversations with legislators to ask for their support for Whole Home Repairs funding.  The Housing Alliance is working with Whole Home Repairs administrators to meet with legislators concerning their local programs to build support for additional funding and minor legislative changes

Eviction Prevention

In 2024, the Housing Alliance is seeking additional funding for the Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and flexibility for those resources to be used for eviction diversion and prevention programs including landlord-tenant mediation, rental assistance, and legal representation. 

The Governor’s proposed budget includes an additional $10 million for Homeless Assistance, $5 million for legal representation in eviction proceedings, and $5 million to local governments for rapid response to emergency housing needs. 

These represent tremendous investments, and we are working to see these initiatives included in the final budget.

What’s Next

In the coming weeks, both House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hold budget hearings with most state departments and agencies to examine the proposed spending plan.

The Housing Alliance will be working with advocates and partners to gain legislative support for all the above proposed housing investments. 

With Pennsylvania now the only state in the nation with a divided government, we have challenges before us; however, the short supply of housing and the plight of renters has been elevated in a way that we’ve never seen before.

We have never treated housing as a partisan issue, but rather a problem that requires everyone’s attention and expertise to properly address. 

Sealing Eviction Records

Many renters who have never been evicted carry eviction filing records.  While eviction filings are civil matters, they bar potential tenants from housing in the same way that criminal records can prevent former offenders from obtaining employment. 

Eviction filings are permanently recorded and reported to landlords regardless of the outcome of the case.  Even when a case is withdrawn, dismissed, or settled outside of court, the eviction filing is permanent with no legal remedy available to seal it.

Tenants with eviction filings are often forced to pay higher rents, settle for housing that is less safe, or they are simply automatically screened from consideration by future landlords. 

In keeping with the standards set by Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate legislation which limits access to certain criminal histories, as well as credit reporting which drops bankruptcy filings after seven years, the Housing Alliance is seeking to enact a remedy to limit access to eviction filing records.

State Representative Smith-Wade-El and State Senator Nikil Saval are drafting legislation that would place an Order of Limited Access on eviction filings until a tenant loses their case in court.  If the court decides for the landlord, an eviction record would remain open for several years until it is ultimately placed under a permanent Order of Limited Access, providing a second chance for tenants.

The Housing Alliance is working to engage legislators in all four caucuses to support the proposal.

On Thursday, February 15th, beginning at 1:00p.m. the Senate Democratic Policy Committee will hold a public hearing on this issue at the Wilkinsburg Municipal Building in Pittsburgh.

PA Housing Providers Increased Voter Turnout; Find Out How to Join Us This Year in Non-Partisan Voter Engagement

PREVIOUS IMPACT
 
27 organizations were part of our PA Votes initiative leading up to the 2020 Presidential and 2022 Mid-Term Elections. They engaged over 6,800 low-income potential voters in nonpartisan activities such as voter registration drives, providing transportation to and from polling locations, door to door canvassing, election reminders, and candidate town halls.

An analysis from the national organization Nonprofit Vote found that our Pennsylvania partner organizations increased voter turnout by 9 and 10 percentage points respectively and among those least likely to vote. 

More partners in the joint PA Votes initiative this year will likely mean stronger, collective outcomes!

Here’s what previous partners said:

“We wanted to work with the Housing Alliance because of the great tools and resources that help us to make voting a priority” -Parkview Towers 
 
“Voting is not a one-time thing. It requires constant education and information sharing to your residents. PA Votes (the Housing Alliance’s initiative) gave us the tools to do that” –Allentown Housing Authority 
 
WHO
 
Nonprofits, housing authorities, case managers, and affordable housing property managers can all engage in non-partisan voter engagement activities. 

Many activities can be easily integrated into your regular engagement with residents, tenants, consumers, and clients. We have a host of resources about what you can and cannot do based on your organization type.
 
We want more partners this year than ever before because 2024 is such an important election year and because more partners will likely lead to even stronger collective outcomes.

Click here for our previous partner list. 
 
HOW
 
The Housing Alliance wants to help your organization include and integrate simple and nonpartisan voter registration and engagement activities into what you currently do. Some examples of this could be hosting a voter registration drive at an already planned community event, sending out important election date reminders in your communications to your residents, or discussing voting in your regularly scheduled meetings with clients.

Think your organization can’t do this kind of work? Here are resources to help you understand what your nonprofit can and cannot do. And note that HUD clarified previously that housing authorities can also engage in nonpartisan voter registration and engagement. 
 
Please find out how to get involved by joining our virtual event on Tuesday, February 27th from 11am-12pm  and / or contacting Jen Thomas at jennifer@housingalliancepa.org.  To register, click here.

 In partnership,

 
Phyllis Chamberlain
Executive Director

On Tuesday, Governor Josh Shapiro delivered his 2024-25 State Budget proposal to the General Assembly which includes historic investments in housing, home repair, homeless assistance, and eviction prevention.

The proposed budget includes:

  • Increasing the PHARE program funding cap to $100 million by 2027-28, with $10 million per year increases
  • $50 million for the Whole Home Repair Program
  • $10 million for the Homeless Assistance Program
  • $5 million for legal representation in eviction proceedings
  • $5 million to local governments for rapid response to emergency housing situations

In the coming weeks, both House and Senate Appropriations Committees will hold budget hearings with most state departments and agencies to examine the proposed spending plan.

The Housing Alliance will be working with advocates and legislators to enact these funding proposals in the final 2024-25 state budget which is due on June 30th.

The Year Ahead: Previewing the Housing Alliance’s 2024 Plans

To kick off 2024, I’d like to share what the Housing Alliance plans to accomplish this year. 

We are proud of what we have been able to get done throughout our 39 year history. I hope you know that our accomplishments are collective. We are a coalition that thrives because of your involvement, perspectives, and successes.

Remember the Housing Alliance’s goal is to take on the problems that are preventing you from taking your programs to greater scale to create and sustain housing affordability. Our work includes policy advocacy, building knowledge through research and promotion of best practices, and convening and events. 

Here’s what we are up to this year.

1.    Policy Advocacy

We analyze local, state, and federal policy barriers and propose changes.
 
We advocate for increased funding and more effective public policy.

•    PHARE Funding Increase 

Have you applied for and received a PHARE grant? If so, you have strong advocates, probably yourself included, from across the state to thank.

Collectively we have succeeded in increasing PHARE’s statewide funding source by 40% and then by 50% in 2019 and 2022 respectively, and we are on the path to increase it once again this year to $100 million per year. 

Check out Aaron Zappia’s Legislative Progress Update to find out current status and how you can help get it over the finish line.
 
More information about PHARE

•    Whole Home Repair Policy Advocacy and Peer Convenings

Pennsylvania’s investment of $125 million into the first-ever statewide Whole Home Repair Program is an unprecedented opportunity to address the quality of the Commonwealth’s housing stock for both homeowners and renters, thereby improving public safety and health outcomes. 

The Housing Alliance has been partnering with those delivering the program at the local level to identify successes, challenges, and policy recommendations and to advocate for more funding.

•    Homeless Prevention 

We are often limited by our lack of imagination. We assume problems are too big and too complicated. 

But what if we told you that eviction does not have to be a given? What if we told you that even landlords can benefit from a completely different way of “doing business”, aka what happens when a tenant is behind in paying their rent?

There are multiple local programs across PA and across the country that are working to help tenants avoid eviction even after a landlord has started to pursue eviction through the courts.

This matters for a lot of reasons including that eviction is one of the most common pathways to homelessness.

It’s time that the state invested in programs that are preventing homelessness by helping tenants and landlords resolve the conflict when a tenant is behind in paying rent.

We’ll be advocating for increased funding to support evidence based practices that prevent homelessness by avoiding eviction. 

•    Limited access to public eviction filing records

We all deserve a second chance. No one should be punished for their lifetime because of previous, minor mistakes. 

Bankruptcy filings and missed payments are cleared from your public record after 7 years, but eviction filings are permanent—even when the issue is resolved, or a landlord does not pursue eviction.
 
Tenants with just the eviction filing alone on their record, no matter the outcome, are often screened out when landlords have available rental units and consider new tenants. This public record never goes away. This leaves these tenants with far fewer options and they often find housing that is of poorer quality and in higher poverty neighborhoods.

To give everyone a fair chance, we support forthcoming legislation that would limit access to public records when the eviction filing is withdrawn by the landlord or settled between the landlord and tenant, representing a resolution to the problem rather than an eviction. 
 
Here’s more of an explanation:
 
An eviction filing is a complaint filed by a landlord most often because a tenant is behind in paying rent. Within 7 to 10 days, you have to appear in court before a judge who makes a decision. Before or at the court hearing, you may be able to resolve the problem by paying your landlord owed rent or at least agreeing to a payment plan. This can be enough for the landlord to not pursue eviction. (To explain the technical terms: The outcome in the court records may then be withdrawal (by landlord) or settled (by agreement between landlord and tenant.))

If you have done nothing wrong besides struggle to pay your rent, you deserve a fair chance.

•    We are also tracking, monitoring, and supporting several other state bills including critical zoning changes.

2.    Building Knowledge through Research and Promotion of Best Practices

We talk to practitioners at the local level as well as people with lived experience to understand the policies and local programs that are working and the common barriers that need to be addressed through either policy or program changes.

We promote these practices to help others as they seek to improve local program delivery and practices.

•    Preventing Homelessness by Avoiding Eviction 

Eviction doesn’t happen only when a tenant “does something grossly wrong.”

It mostly happens when tenants are behind on rent. Getting behind in paying rent is easy to do. 30% of renter households pay too much of their income for rent and 69% of extremely low-income renter households pay more than half of their income for rent. (National Low Income Housing Coalition)

If eviction benefits *no one* not even the landlord doesn’t it make sense to find out if there is a better way to get the rent paid? 

We have been studying the causes and solutions and have quite a wealth of knowledge on what to do. 

Check out our work and resource library.

•    Incentivizing Private Market Landlords to Rent to Lower Income Households with the Greatest Barriers

Did you know that a landlord could receive a “barrier removal” financial incentive? 

With such a competitive rental market, landlords often screen out households when considering new tenants for a variety of reasons. In response, local nonprofits and community partners have developed a set of strategies, including landlord financial incentives, to help those households that landlords often screen out. 

We have developed resources and profiled examples of financial incentives for landlords. 

Check out our work and our resource library.
 
Here’s more explanation:

The rental market became even more competitive after the pandemic. Rents rose at higher percentages than usual, and many landlords struggled to meet their own financial obligations, especially smaller landlords.

It takes a long time and a lot of money to build new units. In the meantime, local nonprofits and community partners have developed strategies to attempt to find housing more quickly that is affordable for those households that landlords often screen out.

The strategies are working. They include both financial and service incentives for landlords. The approach is to help landlords to then help the lower income households that service organizations are assisting.

We’ll continue to update the resource library with concrete examples from communities across PA and the country. And we’ll soon be inviting interested parties to join a peer exchange to talk to each other about creating or expanding landlord engagement and incentives. 

•    Creating Pathways to Greater Participation

Do you know that engaging the people you serve to vote is important but don’t have the time or know what you can do?

The Housing Alliance is here to help you address this barrier. We can provide you with all the resources you need to engage the people you serve to vote.

We previously supported 19 organizations who increased voter turnout among low-income voters who otherwise would have been unlikely to vote. So we know this work is making an impact!

We will soon be releasing information about our PA Votes initiative leading up to the 2024 Presidential election.

For more information visit our website.

3.    Convening & Events

•    Save the Date for our 2nd Rural Pennsylvania Housing Summit on June 5, 2024 at Seven Springs.

On June 5, we hope you are one of the 250 expected participants in the 2nd Rural Pennsylvania Housing Summit. 

Thanks in advance to our Host Committee – a group of dedicated individuals helping us plan the event.

Sponsorship Opportunities are available.
 
The 2nd Annual Rural Pennsylvania Housing Summit is an opportunity to join with your peers and colleagues in raising awareness of the uniqueness of rural communities and collaborating to address barriers and challenges. 

•    Save the Date for our 20th Homes Within Reach Conference December 4-6, 2024 at the Hershey Lodge.

The 2023 conference attracted 944 participants. We were so excited to host all of you to hear about the great work that you are doing across the Commonwealth.

Sponsorship for the 2024 conference is already open!

Stay tuned for the Request for Workshop Proposals due out in March. 
If you submitted a workshop idea previously and were not accepted we strongly encourage you to submit again. We receive a lot of great ideas (and too many to accept all) and would love to consider your idea again.

 In partnership,

 
Phyllis Chamberlain
Executive Director

What the State Legislature Will Be Facing This Year: The Big Picture

In this month’s legislative update, the Housing Alliance’s Aaron Zappia gives us the overall context and political environment in which our state legislature is likely to operate this year, potentially impacting our policy priorities.

The new year is off to a typical slow start in the state legislature, especially with neither the House or Senate scheduled for a full week of session until March. 

2024 is the second year of the current 2023-24 legislative session.  All bills not passed by the end of this calendar year will need to be re-introduced to start the process over again in 2025.

With the new year, the General Assembly begins working towards a state budget that is due June 30th—even though that deadline is often well overridden.  The first landmark on the budget odyssey is the Governor’s budget address which typically happens the first week of February.  In 2023, we were delighted that Governor Shapiro addressed housing needs in his inaugural budget proposal.  While we do not know if or how housing issues will be handled by the Shapiro Administration in 2024, the Shapiro team has been holding regional listening sessions to take policy recommendations from those on the front lines.

Here is what we know about 2024: 

  • Education funding is likely to dominate budget negotiations as usual.
  • Democratic legislators are expected to continue to propose billions in additional state funding for public education, acting on a mandate from the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruling that found inequality in how public education is funded.
  • If education funding is to significantly increase, Republican lawmakers will likely expect an investment in a School Choice Voucher pilot program. $100MM was proposed in 2023. This largely contributed to the delayed finalized budget in 2023.
  • Pennsylvania now officially has the only divided legislature in the nation with a Democratic controlled House and Republican controlled Senate.
  • Pennsylvania remains a key battleground state in this year’s Presidential election, and most of the General Assembly is up for reelection.

What does it all mean?

2024 is likely to be a noisy year, full of partisan political rhetoric and campaign distractions. 

In order to continue the progress we’ve made so far in funding PHARE, Whole Home Repairs, blight policy, and eviction prevention, housing advocates are going to have to cut through the noise and remind lawmakers that we are still experiencing a housing crisis.  As always, this happens through local engagement—people reaching out personally to their State Senate and House members asking for an audience to discuss housing policy.

The Housing Alliance is here to guide and arm advocates with the tools necessary to avoid the chaos and deliver our message to state lawmakers. 

Status of Increasing Funding for PHARE

The Housing Alliance will continue to seek an increase to the PHARE funding cap from $60MM to $100MM over a three-year period. 

In addition to two free standing bills in the House and Senate, PHARE was amended into HB1219—an omnibus Tax Code bill that was passed by the PA House last fall.  The legislation still awaits consideration in the Senate, and should it move forward, we will work to retain the language to increase PHARE.

While the General Assembly is not required to approve a tax code measure each session, it is typically done along with the budget enabling legislation or as session concludes in the fall.  

It is always helpful to talk to legislators about the importance of PHARE in your community.

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