Sen. Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia), who is spearheading the bill, said he thinks that as prices rise and housing stock ages across the commonwealth, this is the most straightforward way to keep people safely, affordably housed.
“We know that low income households spend a quarter of their incomes on utility bills,” he said. “We know that three quarters of low and moderate-income homeowners are denied home repair loans by conventional lenders, and … extreme weather is exacerbating the deterioration of our buildings.”
He added, “the fight for affordable utilities, the fight for safe communities, the fight for housing security, and the fight for equity and justice are all the same fight.”
Saval, a former ward leader, organizer, and housing and architecture writer, is relatively new to the Senate. This bill was one of the first things his office began working on after his 2020 election, he said, and now he and co-sponsors in the House and Senate are pushing to get it included in the next fiscal year’s budget.
He and other supporters of the measure spoke Monday in South Philadelphia’s Hawthorne Park — the first stop in what will be a statewide tour in support of the bill. The coalition included city, state, and federal lawmakers, and groups including POWER Interfaith, Philly Thrive, Make the Road PA, and the Sunrise Movement.
They envision a system that knits together existing programs that help homeowners pay for certain repairs and improvements, but that don’t always cover everything homeowners need.
Steve Luxton, who heads the nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency and helps people pay for weatherization that can lower their utility bills, noted that “about 60 or 70%” of the people who apply for weatherization assistance can’t get it because of structural problems with their homes.
“You can’t have a drop of moisture falling inside your house that isn’t controlled,” he said. “So we put Mrs. Smith’s house on the back burner, and tell Mrs. Smith, ‘When you get your roof leak fixed, give us a call.’ Now, we know that isn’t going to happen in most cases.”
Shawmar Pitts, an organizer with the group Philly Thrive, noted that it can be common in Philadelphia for low to middle-income homeowners to fall behind on repairs, become overwhelmed, and then feel pressured to sell their family home to developers for a fraction of its true worth. This, he said, creates a cycle of gentrification and loss of generational wealth.
“That’s why this bill is so important,” he said. “It speaks to the needs of the people in our community, and it would afford them the opportunity to stay in their homes.”