Housing Repair & Rental Improvement Programs

Philadelphia’s affordable housing strategy depends on repairing existing homes
Michaelle Bond, Philadelphia Inquirer

Philadelphia’s housing stock is old and can be expensive to maintain — challenges in a city with a 23% poverty rate, incomes that aren’t keeping pace with rising home prices, and now a pandemic-induced recession.
Every home that becomes uninhabitable and abandoned or crumbles due to disrepair is one fewer home available to mitigate the affordable housing crisis.
City officials and housing advocates repeat a common sentiment: The most affordable house for residents is usually the one in which they already live because they don’t have to take on new debt or spend money relocating. So repairing existing homes is a key part of Philadelphia’s affordable housing strategy. Read here.

Grant programs
Through the Philadelphia Housing Development Corp.’s Basic System Repair Program, income-eligible homeowners can get repairs such as plumbing, electrical, structural, and roof work for free. Details here.

Restore, Repair, Renew loan program.
Homeowners with credit scores above 580 and who meet other criteria can get loans up to $24,999 and pay 3% interest. The program includes financial counseling, home assessments, and guidance throughout the renovations. It assists people who earn a little too much money to qualify for grant programs but may not have savings or can’t afford the higher interest rates of typical loans. Many wouldn’t qualify for loans at all. More details here.

The Rental Improvement Fund, a pilot program the city and the Impact Loan Fund started in May, provides loans to small landlords to make repairs to improve the quality and affordability of rental housing.
Read more here.