The Whole-Home Repairs Program is set to become Pennsylvania’s one-stop shop for home repairs and weatherization.

UPDATE: As of Monday, December 12, 2022, approved organizations and entities can apply to become the Whole-Home Repairs Program Administrator for their county. Read the program guidelines from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development here. Applications for county administrators are due by 5pm on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.

Pennsylvania homeowners and small landlords can apply for Whole-Home Repairs beginning Summer 2023! To sign up for updates and receive notification on when program applications open, add your name as a Whole-Home Repairs Program supporter.

The Whole-Home Repairs Program helps preserve Pennsylvania homes and stabilize Pennsylvania communities while building out our local workforce and adding new family-sustaining jobs in a fast-growing field. This program is the first of its kind in the nation, making it so that Pennsylvanians can stay warm, safe, and dry in homes they can afford.

It’s not just Pennsylvania residents who are supporting Whole-Home Repairs—view the coalition of community organizations and housing and energy advocates who helped make this program a reality.

Please add your name below to support the Whole-Home Repairs Program and affirm Pennsylvanians’ right to housing that is warm, safe, and dry. We’ll make sure that you receive updates on the program and, when the application period is announced, we’ll send you information on when, where, and how you can apply.

Pennsylvania has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation. One in four Pennsylvania voters lives in a home that needs a critical repair, and one in three reports that their energy bills are unaffordable. We know that the need is massive, and the solutions must meet the magnitude of the demand. We’re fighting until every household has what they need to make their home whole.

If you, your organization or business, or your office would like to become involved, please let us know!

About

The Whole-Home Repairs Program was introduced by Pennsylvania State Senator Nikil Saval in March 2022 as Senate Bill 1135 and passed into law in July 2022 with an unprecedented $125-million appropriation in the 2022–2023 state budget. The program language is enshrined in the state’s fiscal code.

Pennsylvania has some of the oldest housing stock in the nation. Hundreds of thousands of homes across the Commonwealth have moderate to severe physical inadequacies, including leaky roofs or windows, blown fuses or exposed wiring, unreliable heat, or the lack of a flushing toilet. As people struggle to simply hold on to their homes, they may be forced to forgo regular maintenance and small repairs and upgrades, deferring until a repair is more urgently needed, and far more expensive.

Deferred maintenance and system upgrades can result in homes with energy inefficiencies, which impose utility burdens on communities that can least afford them. Black and brown Pennsylvanians typically pay more in utilities than white Pennsylvanians, and in Philadelphia, low-income households spend an average of 23% of their household’s income on utilities alone. A household that cannot afford urgent repairs or upgrades may be forced into an untenable situation: living in a home that is fundamentally unsafe, abandoning it, or selling it to a speculator.

The Whole-Home Repairs Program meets the real, material needs of Pennsylvania residents. This is a direct investment in our people and in their homes and communities.

The Whole-Home Repairs Program establishes a one-stop shop for home repairs and weatherization while building out our local workforce and adding new family-sustaining jobs in a growing field. This program is the first of its kind in the nation, making it so that Pennsylvanians can stay warm, safe, and dry in homes they can afford.

This program:

1. Provides up to $50,000 to repair, update, and adapt homes throughout Pennsylvania.
2. Allocates resources for support staff to help people access the assistance they need in the order they need it.
3. Funds training and pre-apprenticeship programs and provides stipends to trainees to build up the local workforce needed to meet the demand.

Dozens of stakeholders were involved in drafting and editing and finalizing the program logistics.

This is the largest investment in housing that the legislature has made in recent history. At a time of incredible hardship for people across the Commonwealth, the General Assembly has seized a historic opportunity to permanently move the needle on our housing crisis. The United States needs a model for how to preserve its aging housing stock and create new jobs. By passing the Whole-Home Repairs Program, Pennsylvania has positioned itself as a leader.