Senator Nikil Saval Hopes to Secure Funding for the Whole-Home Repairs Act

State Senator Nikil Saval, D-Philadelphia, launched the beginning of campaign week for the Whole-Home Repairs Act on Monday morning at Hawthorne Park in Philadelphia. The Whole-Home Repairs Act (Senate Bill 1135) is a bipartisan bill that creates a one-stop-shop for home repairs and weatherization. Grants of up to $50,000.00 for homeowners and loans of up to $50,000.00 for landlords would be available to improve house habitability, and energy efficiency, and eliminate lead paint and other potentially harmful situations. Three Republicans have already signaled support for the bill — Sen. Dan Laughlin of Erie County, Sen. Pat Browne in Lehigh County, and Sen. Dave Argall in Berks County. 

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

We are here today because hundreds of thousands of people across our commonwealth — our constituents, our neighbors, our loved ones — are living in homes that are unsafe because they cannot afford to make repairs, and this is unacceptable,” Saval said. “The Whole-Home Repairs Act is a bipartisan bill that creates a one-stop-shop for home repairs and weatherization while building out our workforce and adding new, family-sustaining jobs in a growing field.”

This bill, which is now before the Senate Urban Affairs & Housing Committee, was presented by Senator Nikil. Saval, state Sen. Judy Schwank, representatives of the grassroots organizations Berks Stands Up, Sunrise Movement Berks, and Make the Road Pennsylvania, the Berks County chapter of Democratic Socialists of America, and about 30 people who support it. The fund will address proposals from private and public sector organizations, that will work directly with homeowners to ensure that they receive funding for maintenance projects in their homes.

“Every person has the right to a home that is safe, a home that is healthy,” the Philadelphia Democrat said Wednesday in Reading. “And right now, in counties across our state, people are denied this right because they don’t have the resources they need for their homes.”

The Whole-Home Repairs Act works by funding home repairs, coordination and technical assistance, and workforce development. It provides $50,000.00 grants for homeowners and loans to small landlords with affordability restrictions so that they can make habitability repairs and upgrades for energy efficiency. The Whole-Home Repairs Fund allocates resources for support staff to help people access the right programs in the right order to meet their needs and maximize their access to holistic repairs. The Whole-Home Repairs Fund provides resources to increase retention in home repair and weatherization training programs and pre-apprenticeship programs, including cash stipends to trainees, so that our state can build up the workforce needed to meet the demand.

For more information on getting a grant and also learning about refinance programs, take a look at this.

“Hundreds of thousands of people across our state are living in homes that are unsafe because they can’t afford to make the needed repairs,” said Senator Nikil Saval, who represents District 1 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Passing the Whole-Homes Repairs Act will permanently move the needle on Pennsylvania’s housing crisis.”

To learn more about the Whole-Home Repairs Act, visit its official site.