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Amending Bill No. 250568 (approved June 13, 2025), entitled “An Ordinance Authorizing and approving the execution and delivery of a Service Agreement between The City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority relating to the financing of a Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) Plan which includes housing production and preservation, home affordability, home owner and renter assistance, related contractor training and support, blight and vacant property reduction, urban beautification, neighborhood infrastructure, and other related programs; approving the issuance by the Authority of bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness (including reimbursement obligations related to lines or letters of credit) in one or more series to finance or refinance such plan and authorizing and approving the obligation of The City of Philadelphia to pay in full when due the Service Fee and other amounts payable under the Service Agreement; authorizing certain City officers to take certain actions required to issue such bonds, notes or other evidences of indebtedness; covenanting that The City of Philadelphia will make necessary appropriations in each of the City’s fiscal years to provide for, and will make timely payments of, the Service Fee and other amounts due under the Service Agreement; requiring an annual program statement and budget to be approved by Council, and other requirements; and authorizing and approving the Director of Finance of the City and other City officials to take other necessary or appropriate actions to effectuate the purposes of this ordinance; all under certain terms and conditions,” in order to expand on the H.O.M.E programs and provide further process concerning spending, all under certain terms and conditions.
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THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA HEREBY ORDAINS:
Section 1. Bill No. 250568 (approved June 13, 2025), is hereby amended as follows:
A. Section 2 of Bill No. 250568 is amended as follows (additions to the Bill in Bold; deletions in Strikethrough):
SECTION 2. The Service Agreement authorized by this Ordinance shall provide that no proceeds of Obligations shall be used except in accordance with the provisions of this Section 2; and shall further provide that City Council is an intended beneficiary of such provisions and may sue for their specific enforcement.
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(b) No proceeds of any Obligations may be expended for the H.O.M.E. Plan component programs until Council approval required under Section 2(a) has been obtained except as provided in Section (c). Costs of issuance, service fees, and other such fees related to securing the Obligations, may be expended prior to Council approval required under Section 2(a).
(b.1) In connection with its approval of the annual Program Statement and Budget, Council has the authority to establish the maximum Area Median Income (AMI) qualification for any program or subprogram. The established AMI qualification can apply to all the funding allocated to such program or a percentage of funding allocated to such program.
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B. Exhibit “A” to Bill No. 250568, entitled “Description of Component Programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan is hereby amended as set forth in the attached version of Exhibit A (additions to the Bill in Bold; deletions in Strikethrough):
Exhibit A
Description of the Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) Plan
The Housing Opportunities Made Easy (H.O.M.E.) Plan (the “H.O.M.E. Plan”) includes component programs described in further detail below to be undertaken and/or administered by the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (the “Authority”), the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (“PHDC”) and The City of Philadelphia (the “City”), to preserve homes, make homes more affordable, build more housing, improve municipal customer service for homeowners, renters, landlords, developers, and contractors, prevent housing instability and homelessness, ensure that housing and neighborhood infrastructure are in a state of good repair and more resilient, redevelop vacant lots and buildings, and beautify City blocks in order to promote the health, welfare and safety of the residents of the City, prevent and eliminate blight, and encourage the provision of healthful homes, a decent living environment and adequate places of employment for residents of the City through redevelopment, renewal, rehabilitation, housing, conservation, urban beautification and similar activities which may also be undertaken in commercial and mixed-use areas. The H.O.M.E. Plan may include the development, creation, expansion, implementation, assessment, and funding of: (a) programs to expand home ownership within the City and produce, preserve, maintain and stabilize the City’s affordable housing inventory for the benefit of the residents of the City; (b) programs to assist renters and homeowners in remaining in their homes and residents to avoid homelessness; (c) programs to develop and enhance the supply of contractors for housing and real property projects within the City that further the purposes of various components of the H.O.M.E. Plan; (d) programs involving repairs, new construction, renovations and other improvements related to real property necessary to help property owners, neighborhood and community organizations, other non-profit entities and small businesses in low, moderate, and middle income areas and middle neighborhoods make investments that will benefit residents of the City, including for purposes of reducing blight and vacant properties and promoting urban beautification; and (e) programs for the improvement or enhancement of neighborhood infrastructure for the benefit of residents of the City. Any homeowner who is the beneficiary of H.O.M.E. Plan funds or programs will be referred to available resources for tangled title counseling, for the protection of both the individual residents, and the City’s investment in the properties.
The Authority will, to the extent requested by the City, select, or otherwise cooperate with the City in the selection of certain governmental, non-profit and other entities, including MWDBE- contracting entities, as Program Intermediaries (PIs) to assist in carrying out various program delivery activities. To the extent that the City may utilize PIs to administer elements of the component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan and perform specified activities in connection with the H.O.M.E. Plan, the Authority will cooperate with the City in the oversight, administration and coordination of such activities of such PIs to the extent directed by the City. The City and the Authority may also mutually determine that the Authority or PHDC will carry out certain program delivery activities directly on behalf of the City.
Proceeds of Obligations will be used for some or all of the following program costs (either incurred directly, or on a reimbursement basis, by the City, the Authority, PHDC or PIs). Any of the programs described below may be funded through use of an existing funding mechanism, or establishment of a new funding mechanism administered by a community development financial institution (CDFI) or other PI acceptable to the City and the Authority from which may be made direct payments for costs of property acquisition, construction or improvements, or grants or loans in connection with carrying out various program delivery activities. Unless expressly specified otherwise within this Exhibit, loans may be made at zero or below-market interest rates and may be made as forgivable loans. No proceeds of Obligations shall be used by the City, the Authority, or any related entity to acquire an equity interest in any proprietary entity. Without intending to limit the application of proceeds of Obligations to finance other proper component program expenses, such proceeds may be used to: (i) pay fees (other than referral fees) and costs for program related services rendered to homeowners, landlords, renters, contractors, community organizations, non-profit entities, and small business owners participating in component programs, (ii) provide credit and similar counseling and advisory services to homeowners, landlords, renters, developers, contractors, and others in connection with application processes, (iii) pay the costs of retaining one or more third party evaluation organizations to collect data on a particular component program, verify outcomes, and produce reports on the impact of the particular component program, (iv) pay the costs related to assessing, designing (or redesigning) and implementing customer service and other processes related to the more effective management and/or development of existing and future housing related programs, and (v) pay the cost of administration of the respective component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan by the City, the Council, the Authority, PHDC, or such PIs as determined by the City, the Council and the Authority, including, but not limited to, third party consulting services, staff time and internal resources expended managing an applicable component program, processing invoices, providing accounting services, overseeing contracts and carrying out annual audits.
The following general provisions shall be applied in implementing the component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan discussed below except to the extent: (i) specifically provided otherwise within this Ordinance or (ii) limited or otherwise prescribed by applicable law from time to time in effect. References to “residential units,” “housing,” and similar terms shall be understood to encompass both rental and owner-owned units and property. Descriptions below shall be interpreted to maintain or expand, and not to limit, the scope of a given existing program as currently in effect at the time of enactment of this Ordinance. The component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan may be undertaken in low, moderate and middle income census tracts and middle neighborhoods. The various housing production and preservation programs included within the H.O.M.E. Plan may be implemented to advance the City’s workforce housing needs consistent with the purposes of the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law. Activities to implement the component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan may be undertaken anywhere within the service area of the Authority which is co-extensive with the City’s boundaries. References to providing capital and similar references shall permit the use of loans and grants. The future conveyance of properties acquired, constructed, rehabilitated or otherwise improved pursuant to the programs described below may be subject to such requirements as the Authority and City may impose upon borrowers, grantees, PIs, and other applicable program participants to further the purpose of developing and maintaining the supply of affordable housing within the City.
Any dollar amounts specified below in the description of any program, may be treated as increased over time based on the Consumer Price Index, the Producer Price Index and/or any other federal or commercial then-prevailing measure of changes in price levels, as applicable in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Statistical Area (or any similar successor regional description). Such increases shall not permit the issuance of Obligations in an aggregate principal amount above the limit provided in Section 1 of this Ordinance. Any references below to percentages (e.g., with respect to “Area Median Income” or “AMI”) shall be subject to change from time to time by the City provided that any such changes are consistent with the purposes of the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law.
Access to Bonding for Local Contractors. This program shall create one or more funds at federal or state-chartered banks, savings institutions, CDFIs or other appropriate financial services partners to provide access for locally licensed (or appropriately exempted) construction, trade, supplier and other customary real property contractors (“Contractors”) to payment, performance, supply and other common types of required bonding for urban residential and other real property projects within the City. It is a goal of this program to facilitate Contractors obtaining such bonding at lower price points compared to recent price levels available within the City. This program is intended to require applicable financial service partners to agree to offer specific terms to borrowers for commercially reasonable periods of time in light of market conditions prevailing from time to time.
Acquisition Fund. This program shall provide capital for entities including, but not limited to, the Authority, or PHDC to acquire occupied multifamily buildings or land for development to increase the supply of affordable residential units within the City. No buildings or land acquired with this Acquisition Fund shall be disposed of by the Authority or PHDC for market rate housing.
Adaptive Modifications Program (AMP). This program shall provide free adaptation projects to provide easier access to and mobility within homes (which may be delivered pursuant to grant or other arrangements) for permanently disabled renters (with permission of the related property owner) and homeowners with household income up to 80% of Area Median Income (AMI). Eligible homes shall be those meeting the AMP’s existing criteria.
Affordable Housing Preservation (HPres). This program shall include the provision of “gap” financing (i.e., financing including short to medium-term loans to address timing considerations or longer-term financing to complete the “capital stack” for a project financed predominantly from other sources) to developers for renovation, acquisition of property and other expenditures for housing preservation projects.
HPres may consist of providing loans and/or grants to PIs, property owners and developers for costs of existing property acquisition and rehabilitation, and providing funds for existing property acquisition and rehabilitation directly by the City or PIs for potential resale, to preserve existing affordable rental housing, with special emphasis on the preservation of Low- Income Housing Tax Credit rental housing developments. The major components of the HPres program will consist of programs in the following areas for which proceeds may be expended:
Preservation Acquisition Funds - Providing funds for the public, private or not for profit acquisition of rental units at risk of being converted to market-rate units. This may include properties with expiring tax credits, projects placed on the open market for sale or naturally occurring affordable housing that is at risk of market-rate conversation, including the payment of settlement and other costs related to the acquisition and transfer of such properties and costs related to maintaining, managing and holding properties prior to their resale or other conveyance.
Capital Improvements - Providing funds to be used to make capital improvements to existing affordable units. These improvements may take the form of wholesale rehabilitation or may include specific capital needs such as roof replacement, new heating system, energy upgrades or accessibility improvements.
Affordable Housing Production (HPro). This program may similarly provide “gap” financing for construction, reconstruction, acquisition of property and other expenditures for housing production projects.
HPro may consist of providing loans and/or grants to PIs, property owners and developers for costs of rehabilitation, property acquisition and new construction, and providing funds for property acquisition directly by the City, to increase the production of affordable rental housing, including mixed use. The major components of the HPro program will consist of programs in the following areas for which proceeds may be expended:
Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Projects - Providing funding as long-term, low interest subordinate debt to fill financing gaps for low-income housing projects which have already secured a reservation of tax credits.
Affordable Rental & Special Needs Housing Development - Providing funding as long- term, low interest subordinate debt to fill financing gaps for new residential development that serves low- and moderate-income households, and people experiencing homelessness, and is not tied to Low Income Housing Tax Credits.
Housing Opportunities Fund - Providing patient capital in which the City, the Authority or PHDC purchases an ownership stake in a privately constructed and managed building while requiring that housing units in the building be reserved for households earning 50% or less of Area Median Income.
Increased Rental Affordability - Providing grant funding as short-term rent assistance to buy down the cost of rent for newly created units to make them affordable to low- and very low-income tenants, including with respect to projects that may include a mix of units at market rate rents and certain percentages of median rental prices.
Acquisition - Providing grant funding via the Philadelphia Land Bank to purchase properties at Sheriff Sale in order to complete development parcels for the development of affordable and mixed-income housing units.
Basic Systems Repair Program (BSRP). This program shall provide free home repairs (which may be delivered pursuant to grant or other arrangements) to correct electrical, plumbing, heating, limited structural, and carpentry and roofing emergencies. Eligible grant recipients shall be homeowners with household income up to 100% percent of AMI, and in owner- occupied homes which are eligible according to BSRP’s existing criteria.
Built to Last (BTL). This program shall provide free home repairs (which may be delivered pursuant to grant or other arrangements) inclusive of what can be provided via Basic Systems Repair along with additional energy conservation and healthy housing repairs. Eligible grant recipients shall be homeowners in owner-occupied homes which are eligible according to BTL’s existing criteria.
Comprehensive Land and Property Acquisition Program. This program shall provide capital for strategic property acquisition to increase the supply of affordable residential units within the City through four complementary funding mechanisms:
Acquisition Fund: The program will support the Philadelphia Housing Authority, PHDC, and other eligible entities in acquiring occupied multifamily buildings and developable land to expand affordable housing inventory.
Land Bank Acquisition Fund: Additionally, it will provide capital for acquiring repossessed properties at public auctions to create affordable owner-occupied and rental residential units.
Nonprofit Community and Anchor Institution Land Acquisition: The program will also fund the acquisition of campus land from community organizations and anchor institutions, providing access to large parcels of viable property and underutilized buildings that can be transferred to the Land Bank for conversion to affordable housing.
Purchase and Rehabilitation of Residential Housing Units: Furthermore, the program shall provide grants and/or loans to Program Intermediaries (PIs) for financing the costs of purchase and/or rehabilitation of existing, new, or recently constructed residential housing stock within the City, particularly within areas where supply levels have lowered prices or within certain price/rent strata. This may include refinancing through the purchase of PI debt.
All property acquired under this program must be restricted to households earning less than 100% AMI. The program emphasizes strategic acquisition of properties suitable for rehabilitation, development, or conversion to meet the City's affordable housing goals across multiple acquisition channels.
This unified approach creates a comprehensive acquisition strategy that addresses various property types and acquisition opportunities while maintaining consistent affordable housing requirements across all funding streams.
Contractor Training. This program shall offer training for Contractors to assist with development projects overseen by the City, Authority or PHDC or their agents or PIs that require extra staffing support until the project is placed in service and available to be operating at design capacity. The objective of this program is for the City, the Authority, PHDC and their agents and any PIs to provide graduates of this training program with job opportunities and increase staffing for new construction and preservation projects for housing and related amenities and infrastructure. It is a further objective of this program that participants will gather the skills and expertise needed to create safe, high-quality homes in the various communities throughout the City.
Curbside Appeal Program. This program shall offer matching grants (which may up to 100%) to enhance “curbside appeal” in City neighborhoods through improvements that boost quality of life, attractiveness, and community cohesion. Components of this program will include, but not be limited to, improvements such as planting trees, greening vacant lots, installing street furniture, and repainting doors and trim facing pedestrians, customers and visitors. Eligible recipients of grants may include non-profit organizations and small businesses.
Employer-Assisted Housing. This program shall provide participating employers with financial assistance and services for such employers’ City-based employees, including homebuyer assistance for first-time home buyers. Homebuyer assistance may be in the form of below- market loans or other arrangements that “buy down” the effective rate of such loans. Other financial assistance and services which may be provided to such employees for residential purposes shall include loan and credit counseling type services.
Eviction Diversion/Targeted Financial Assistance. This program shall offer resources for landlords and tenants in residential rental properties to resolve disputes. Funds under this program may be used to pay limited amounts of back rent and future rent as part of the resolution. This program is intended to enable such parties to avoid costly or prolonged court proceedings.
Façade Improvement Program. This program shall provide one-time funding (which may be administered on either a per residential unit basis or a per recipient basis) for the repair of housing façade work. Already existing architectural details in such facades may be restored or preserved. These projects may include weatherization assistance (which may be provided through grants and/or other services to homeowners or other property owners) required to maintain homes for the long term or to prevent structural damage which may shorten the useful life of such property.
Home Appraisal Bias. This program shall provide training on home appraisal bias for City and other public sector internal staff, housing counseling agency staff, and City residents interested in purchasing a home or refinancing mortgage debt for an existing home. Funding for such training may extend to curriculum development and matters that relate to basic education about home appraisal services. This program is intended to advance the objective of increasing home ownership and improvements within the City.
Home Service Clearinghouse and Concierge. This program shall be administered by the City, the Authority, PHDC, the Philadelphia Energy Authority, or a PI in order to pre-qualify Contractors, maintain a registry, ensure quality control, and provide easy access to responsive, quality Contractors across trades and other services for purposes of residential and related projects within the scope of the various other component programs of the H.OM.E. Plan.
Homelessness Prevention. This program shall be operated by the City in order to provide support to individuals and families at risk of homelessness, resources for housing stabilization, and a pathway towards permanent housing for such individuals and families. Specific services to be provided directly to such individuals and families as part of this program shall be tailored toward meeting direct needs for adequate shelter and housing.
This program may consist of providing funds for the City or PIs to improve existing properties or provide for the costs of the acquisition of properties and their transfer to responsible owners/managers who will maintain the properties’ suitability for permanent supportive housing options for homeless residents, including the funding of loans to property owners and developers, the payment of settlement and other costs related to the acquisition and transfer of such properties and costs related to maintaining, managing and holding properties prior to their resale or other conveyance, any of the foregoing of which may be implemented in whole or in part through the funding of an acquisition and capital improvements fund. The major components of this program will consist of programs in the following areas for which proceeds may be expended:
Acquisition - Providing funds for the acquisition of properties to provide for permanent housing for currently homeless individuals. Funding would either take the form of direct property purchases to bring properties into the public inventory or as long-term, subordinate loans to third party providers to acquire properties.
Capital Improvements - Providing funds to either directly fund capital improvements for property in public inventory or as long-term, subordinate loans to private, third- party owners to make capital improvements to create or maintain units for permanent, supportive homeless housing. Capital improvements may take the form of rehabilitation in order to convert a property from its current or former use into a homeless housing facility or may include specific capital needs such as roof replacement, new heating system, energy upgrades or accessibility improvements.
Emergency Rental Assistance - Providing grant funding for those facing a homelessness emergency coming in via the City’s Homelessness Prevention Hotline. Funding can take the form of either a one-time payment for moving costs (first month rent, last month rent, security deposit) or 12 months of rental assistance with housing case management.
Small Landlord Incentive Program - Providing funds in the form of grants to provide incentives, such as an upfront participation payment (per unit) and a rental loss and damages reserve (per unit) for rental property owners who commit to renting to people with rental assistance vouchers or other subsidy for a period commensurate with receiving public funding support to encourage their participation in providing housing to people exiting homelessness.
Children and Youth Homelessness - Providing funds for counseling, case management, and rental assistance for the City or PIs to support School District of Philadelphia students experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless to combat truancy and increase academic achievement.
Permanent Supportive Housing - Providing funds to augment or replace decreased federal funding from HUD’s Continuum of Care, which is the City’s primary mechanism for supporting homeless assistance programs such as permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing and transitional housing.
At-Risk Families Program - Providing resources to families and children identified by the Department of Human Services as at-risk, including families being at immediate risk of having their children removed from the home due to housing instability; families with open dependency cases delayed by housing barriers; and youth aging out of foster care who lack stable housing. Resources may include rental assistance, utility payment assistance, hazard repair grants, supportive or transitional housing units, or other housing measures tailored to meet the needs of individual families.
Homeowners Insurance Program. This program shall involve a research initiative intended to determine the best approach to improving homeowner insurance costs for City residents. This program is intended to advance the objective of increasing and maintaining stable home ownership within the City and increase affordability for homeowners.
Housing Counseling and Foreclosure/Eviction Prevention. This program shall provide housing counseling services, mediation services, and assistance to City residents at risk of eviction and foreclosure of their homes.
Housing Plus Rental Assistance (PHLHousing+) - Providing sustained rental assistance to low-income families in the private rental market to complement the Authority’s Housing Choice Voucher program. Funding will be administered either by the City or Authority, prioritizing those already on the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist, those participating in an existing rental assistance program that is ending or at risk of expiration, or those in receipt of emergency vouchers being terminated due to federal funding cuts.
Improve the Land Bank’s Efficiency and Effectiveness. This program shall be undertaken by the City, the Authority, PHDC and/or a PI for the purpose of identifying opportunities to streamline work and increase efficiency within the Land Bank via strategic review of processes and resource allocation. This program is intended to advance the objective of increasing the rate at which properties held within the Land Bank are redeveloped for home ownership and other purposes within the City and to facilitate data-driven approaches for assessing the results of the Land Bank’s work, both in terms of specific neighborhoods and for the City overall.
Land Bank Acquisition Fund. This program shall provide capital to acquire repossessed property at public auctions to increase the supply of affordable owner-occupied and rental residential units within the City.
Long-Term (70/30) Ground Leases. This program shall provide for additional publicly owned sites to be available for mixed-income residential development. Funding may be deployed for the acquisition of interests in real property to be utilized in such ground lease development transactions.
Neighborhood Infrastructure Improvement Programs (NIIP). This program shall fund providing grants or loans to property owners for improvement or enhancement of privately owned neighborhood infrastructure for the benefit of the residents of the City. A principal focus of this program is the stabilization of retaining walls, repair of dilapidated shared driveways, and removal of dangerous trees in common alley ways publicly used spaces. Retaining walls to be improved will in particular include those that are classified by the City as imminently dangerous or unsafe under the City Code. Improvements to other private assets in disrepair (e.g., driveways, alleys, sidewalks, trees, sewers) that may create dangerous or unhealthy conditions may also be funded. The City may cause improvements or enhancements to be made directly to property and may also provide in-kind replacement to any private infrastructure that needs to be altered for completion of a project funded by H.O.M.E. funds. The City may impose assessments to adjacent property owners to recover costs.
Nonprofit Community and Anchor Institution Land Acquisition. This program shall fund the City, the Authority or PHDC obtaining campus land to provide access to large swaths of viable property and underutilized buildings that can be available to the Land Bank and converted to affordable housing.
One Philly Mortgage Program. This program shall partner with local and regional lending institutions to provide purchasers and owners of residential housing 30-year fixed-rate loans with reduced down-payments and very low (or below market) interest rates by utilizing loan loss reserves and by buying down interest rates (points). This program is intended to remove the need for private mortgage insurance (PMI) for participating borrowers.
This program includes mortgages to protect an existing legal interest in a property, such as refinancing a rent-to-own agreement (installment land contracts), refinancing a second mortgage for which no loss mitigation options are available, heirs seeking to pay off inherited reverse mortgages, and borrowers seeking to resolve a tangled title by purchasing the legal interests of their co-owners.
Operational and Programmatic Efficiency Assessment. This program shall consist of the assessment by the City, the Authority and PHDC of agency structures, processes, and technology that impact housing production and preservation within the City to ultimately reduce time for processing applications, permits, and other matters requiring City review, approval or direction and improve customer service for developers, landlords, tenants, homeowners, and Contractors.
Philadelphia Accelerator Fund (Multi-family). This program shall provide funding to be used in the form of loans to developers, or other assistance. The Philadelphia Accelerator Fund (PAF) provides flexible financing for affordable housing and works to increase access to capital for Philadelphians across the City including historically disadvantaged groups. This program will support the financing of multi-family properties by PAF, or any successor or similar additional entity, and may include, without limitation, mixed income and mixed-use projects.
Philadelphia Accelerator Fund (Turn the Key). This program shall provide funding to be used in the form of loans to borrowers under the Turn the Key Program consistent with its provisions as currently in effect. This program will support the financing of Turn the Key properties by PAF or any successor or similar additional entity.
Philadelphia Eviction Prevention Programs and Right to Counsel. This program shall offer free legal assistance to eligible renters facing eviction, lease termination, or loss of housing subsidies together with services such as financial counseling, a live hotline, a court help center, community trainings, and educational materials.
Purchase and Rehabilitation of Residential Housing Units by Program Intermediaries. This program shall provide funds to be used for grants and/or loans to PIs, the proceeds of which the applicable PI may use for financing (including refinancing (which may be by the purchase of the debt of a PI)) the costs of the purchase and/or rehabilitation, as applicable, of existing, new, or recently constructed/renovated residential housing stock within the City, particularly within areas where levels of supply have lowered prices or within certain price/rent strata. Among other purposes, this program is intended to contribute to the conservation and expansion of housing within the City, an increase in the vitality of neighborhoods, and the revitalization of deteriorated or deteriorating neighborhoods.
Philly First Home (PFH). This program shall provide grants or forgivable loans for first-time homebuyers (or other homebuyers eligible in accordance with existing PFH guidelines) which funds are available to reduce the principal of homebuyer loans and cover down payment and loan closing costs for such homebuyers with household income of up to such percentage of AMI as the City may from to time determine. Loan forgiveness is generally conditioned upon the homeowner remaining in the home for a specified number of years. If the home is sold prior to the end of the specified period, the loan must be repaid. A waiver may be issued under extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis due to factors such as loss of a job, job relocation or illness.
Positive Housing Marketing and Engagement. This program shall identify approaches to increasing community awareness and understanding of opportunities available through the component programs of the H.O.M.E. Plan and related processes through education, outreach, and marketing; and reform of the Registered Community Organization (RCO) process to provide stakeholders with a voice and mechanisms for obtaining information about the H.O.M.E. Plan. An objective of this program is to increase applications to, and participation levels within, various home ownership and other housing programs to maximize the effectiveness of the H.O.M.E. Plan and to ultimately lead to increased levels of affordable and stable housing within the City. A further objective of this program is to provide information to City residents to understand what steps may be taken by the City and others, and what resources may be made available to City residents, to mitigate any disruptions and other costs associated with the implementation of the respective H.O.M.E. component programs.
Purchase Bank Liens. This program is designed to increase the City’s land inventory available for housing development through the purchase by the City, the Authority, or PHDC of liens on parcels of land (or the purchase of interests in real estate in order for the City’s Land Bank to otherwise obtain such land and associated real property with marketable title) from U.S. Bank National Association (or its applicable affiliates) or from other banks, savings institutions, and financial institutions.
Remove Vacant or Blighted Housing through Demolition. This program will fund the removal of blighted and vacant units owned by or in the possession of the City directly (or through arrangements where ownership or possession is with the Authority or PHDC) through demolition. The scope of this program may be supplemented beyond demolition work to include site clearance, environmental remediation, soil stabilization, stormwater management, and related work to cause the applicable parcels to be ready for site preparation work for future development and redevelopment pursuant to other programs and not to deteriorate during any period of time pending such future development or redevelopment.
Rent and Moving Assistance Programs (Fresh StartPHL). This program shall provide rent/security deposits for the benefit of individuals who are in danger of eviction or homelessness. In administering this program, individuals who qualify to be assisted may be supported in maintaining residence at either a current location in the City or establishing residence at some other location in the City if required rentals or other factors associated with the applicable current location are not commercially reasonable, make the prospects of sustaining residence at such location unfavorable, or lead to uneconomical results from the standpoint of maximizing the number of City residents who can benefit from this program. This program includes funding for the Anti-Displacement Fund pursuant to Phila. Code. § 9-815, which provides moving assistance to tenants displaced as a result of Cease Operations Orders.
Rental Improvement Fund (RIF). This program shall offer a loan product to small landlords (30 or fewer units in the portfolio for the particular landlord) to be used for making property repairs/improvements for their rental properties. Loans are eligible for full forgiveness or a preferable 0% interest rate if landlords meet program affordability requirements during the loan term. Subject to such later adjustment of program loan parameters as the City may determine, the loan is for $10,000-$24,999 per property (up to $100,000 per landlord) over 10 years. The loans may be forgiven in such manner as the City determines, if conditions are met. Loan forgiveness may begin at any point during the life of the loan. An increased interest rate may be applied if affordability requirements are not met. For purposes of this program, the categories of eligible repairs and improvements shall include, but not be limited to, repairs/improvements addressing building code or lead-paint issues, and repairs of the same types and character as those funded through BSRP as well as AMP. Loan proceeds may also be used for working capital for costs related to the rental properties of such small landlords incurred in the ordinary course of their business.
Rent-to-Credit Program (Research). This program will establish the premise for research into programs that would allow renters to build credit with on-time rent payments while protecting them from predatory management practices. This program is intended to lead to lower risk premiums priced into rents and residential real estate loan rates for City residents and ultimately to greater development and utilization of the City’s residential real estate and greater market access for City residents.
Row Home Protection Program. This program shall pursue the goal of preserving Philadelphia’s Row Homes through housing counseling and legal support services made available to renters, landlords and homeowners, provided that no proceeds under this program shall be paid directly to renters, landlords or homeowners. Funds shall be dispersed to third party vendors who administer and provide services related to this program.
Shallow Rent Assistance, Property Based. This program shall expand the Shallow Rent.program to “buy affordability” in market-rate apartment buildings (>80% of AMI).
Shallow Rent Program, Tenant-Based. This program shall provide rental assistance through grants either to landlords or directly to tenants to provide rental payment support for tenants living in affordable housing developments who are low-income or cost burdened (i.e., spending more than 30% of their income on rent) and who are at risk of being evicted.
Tangled Title Fund and Tangled Title. This program shall provide assistance for tangled title including preventing or clearing tangled title to homes for residents earning up to 80% of AMI to cover administrative, legal and other costs that may arise in resolving homeownership issues.
Targeted Financial Assistance. This program shall offer resources for landlords and tenants in residential rental properties to resolve disputes. Funds under this program may be used to pay limited amounts of back rent and future rent as part of the resolution. This program is intended to enable such parties to avoid costly or prolonged court proceedings.
Turn the Key. This program shall assist Philadelphia families buy new affordable homes and build equity for their futures. Funding for this program shall be applied for loans and program expenditures consistent with the Turn the Key program as currently in effect, including without limitation, AMI, other eligible buyer, primary residence, and soft mortgage/soft loan/mortgage buy down provisions.
Weatherization. This program shall offer on-site energy audits to evaluate conditions in homes and identify the most cost-effective energy savings measures to implement. This program may fund installation and inspection services for such identified measures.
Wills program. This program shall serve participants in city homeownership programs, assisting them in writing wills to avoid future tangled title issues, ensuring proper legal documentation for property transfer and reducing the likelihood of title complications for subsequent generations. This funding would allow entities to create a wills program that would serve participants in city homeownership programs. by assisting residents to write wills to avoid future tangled title issues.
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