Delco getting $4.55M in Whole Home Repairs bill

Officials are preparing to roll out a program that will give income-qualified homeowners grants of up to $50,000 to repair homes and help landlords with limited numbers of properties.

The Whole Home Repairs program, approved by state lawmakers and Gov. Tom Wolf during the 2022 budget process, will funnel millions of dollars to counties in the region.

The program draws on federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The program will not be operational until at least early 2023.

In addition, forgivable loans of up to $50,000 to be spent for rental unit repairs can be obtained by landlords who own no more than five properties and no more than 15 rental units

The concept was the brainchild of Democratic Sen. Nikil Saval of Philadelphia. His bill outlining the program was introduced in March and later tucked into a larger bill that got final approval, complete with funding of $125 million.

A spokesperson for Saval said county officials would have ultimate discretion on setting household income limits for homeowners. The rule of thumb for the limit, though, is 80% of an area’s median household income. The figure increases for households with more people and decreases for those with less.

The following amounts will go to counties in the region:

• Delaware: $4.55 million

• Montgomery: $6.12 million

• Chester: $3.16 million

Program guidelines call for distribution to be carried out by government entities or nonprofit groups. The money is intended “to address habitability concerns, improve energy or water efficiency, or to make units accessible for individuals with disabilities.”

Much of the region’s housing stock is aging, but Kane noted that a recent runup in property values has caused a situation where some people in Lehigh may own a home valued at $600,000 but not have the money to pay for repairs.

“There is need for this,” he said. “There will be more demand than money.”

Republican Sen. Pat Browne of Lehigh County called the program “the largest investment the General Assembly has made in recent history, to improving the quality of our existing housing stock.”

Saval said the program “was born from the notion that no one should be denied a home that is safe, a home that is healthy, simply because they don’t have the resources they need to fix them.”