Update: Congress passes bipartisan housing affordability bill featuring PA-originated program

A popular housing program first pitched by a Philadelphia state senator in 2022 has become the model for a home repair program just advanced by Congress. 

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which includes zoning deregulation and new programs to help communities address housing affordability, features a familiar name in Pennsylvania politics: the Whole-Home Repairs Act. 

The Whole-Home Repairs section of the bill – which will create a federal pilot program to provide grants and loans to people to repair and weatherize aging homes – mirrors the commonwealth program of the same name. 

Pennsylvania’s Whole-Home Repairs program, championed by state Sen. Nikil Saval, received $125 million in funding in 2022 to help property owners repair and weatherize their homes and to support training and pre-apprenticeship programs. 

The federal bill, HR 6644, passed in the upper chamber by an 85-5 vote on Monday and a 358-32 vote in the House on Tuesday. It now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for final approval, which is expected to occur on Wednesday. 

Home coming

Referred to as a “one-stop shop” program for home repairs, Pennsylvania’s Whole-Home Repairs program benefitted nearly 4,000 households in its first iteration – and was so popular that the number of waitlisted households remains at roughly 17,000 – a number that officials believe is an undercount. 

“When we passed the Whole-Home Repairs Program, we hoped it would offer a blueprint for other states grappling with how to preserve their aging housing stock and protect the health of their residents,” Saval said in a statement. “I’m enormously proud for Pennsylvania to have laid the path for national housing action and immensely grateful to our federal partners for their vision and dedication in making it possible for people across the country to live in homes that are warm, safe, and dry.”

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who voted in support of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, also introduced legislation last year to create a national Whole-Home Repairs pilot after previously advocating for a federal program. 

Several other states, including Maine, Maryland and Washington, all implemented similar programs, and Saval has consulted with federal policymakers on adopting a national program. 

Congressional copy

The long-awaited federal housing package, introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers – U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tim Scott and Reps. Maxine Waters and French Hill – includes almost 60 different provisions aimed at building and maintaining more housing while restricting large investors from buying new single-family homes. 

The Whole-Home Repairs Act section in HR 6644 will provide for modifications, repairs or updates to homeowner and renter-occupied units to address a number of habitability and safety concerns, as well as energy efficiency and accessibility updates for individuals with disabilities and older adults. 

Much like the Pennsylvania program, the pilot program will provide grants to local organizations administering the repair programs for qualifying homeowners and small landlords – those with fewer than 10 eligible rental properties with a majority of affordable units and not more than 25 total units. 

Eligible homeowners and landlords can apply for a grant to fund anything from a bathroom, kitchen or outdoor modification – such as handrail and ramp installation or porch and sidewalk repairs – to weatherization and utility fixes. The federal pilot will also provide forgivable loans to eligible landlords to implement repair projects not covered by other federal home repair programs. 

“The (Pennsylvania) program provided, for the first time, a statewide response to the epidemic of disrepair affecting our aging homes. It offered a means for people to weatherize their homes against extreme weather and the high costs of energy. It made resources available to residents to adapt their homes so they could remain even as their abilities changed,” Saval said. “Now, these benefits will be available to communities nationwide – a victory made possible through the unwavering efforts of a dedicated coalition of advocates, organizers and residents.”