Housing
Del. ‘Swamp Hotel’ now a swank ‘stepping stone’ for people experiencing homelessness
New Castle County bought the hotel to create a comprehensive shelter and service center to help guests transition to stable, permanent housing.
5 years ago
Listen 6:01
Can Nikil Saval cancel rent during a pandemic and keep landlords whole?
Nikil Saval beat longtime state Sen. Larry Farnese with a promise to change Harrisburg. A bold approach to housing policy is core to his vision.
5 years ago
The rise of the ‘overlay’: How an obscure zoning tool is shaping Philly’s future (again)
In a year when many land use matters were disrupted by the pandemic, City Council created six new neighborhood overlays aimed at shaping development.
5 years ago
Listen 1:44
Biden to extend order limiting pandemic evictions
The federal eviction moratorium, implemented through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is intended to help tenants who have been battered economically
5 years ago
How Black Philadelphians lived MLK’s fight for ‘open housing’
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought de-facto segregation and substandard housing. Black Philadelphians knew the struggle all too well. They still do.
5 years ago
Philadelphia’s COVID rental assistance program to roll out differently in 2021
After a year of hard lessons, Philadelphia officials say a new and improved COVID-19 rental assistance program will come online in March.
5 years ago
‘My phone has not stopped ringing’: A new Chesco eviction prevention program expands Jan. 5
A Chester County eviction prevention program expands into the Coatesville area on Jan. 5 as families continue to struggle amid the coronavirus pandemic.
5 years ago
Black homeowners refinance less and pay more for mortgages, new data reveals
A Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta report found Black and non-white Hispanic homeowners paid more interest on their mortgages.
5 years ago
Billy Penn
Heading back to a shelter, Philly mom wishes COVID hotel money could pay for housing instead
The funding designated for contingency sites is not flexible, city officials said.
5 years ago
Billy Penn
Only a third of CARES Act housing relief went to Pa. residents. The rest went to the state budget
Of 75,000 people who applied to the PHFA program, fewer than 27,000 got assistance.
5 years ago
N.J.’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund gets $19M boost after being starved for almost a decade
New Jersey is allocating more than $19 million to the creation of affordable housing and efforts to protect residents from eviction.
5 years ago
Philly advocates push Pa. lawmakers to adopt tiny homes building codes
In Philadelphia, tiny houses are burdensome to build. A change to state building code would eliminate hurdles, advocates say.
5 years ago
NPR
Why the CDC eviction ban isn’t really a ban: ‘I have nowhere to go’
Families are getting put out on the street despite an order to block evictions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Advocates say the order needs to be extende
5 years ago
Spotlight PA
Pa. misses deadline to spend $108M in rent, mortgage relief from CARES Act
Pa. tenants and homeowners missed out on roughly $108M of $175M in federal coronavirus relief because state programs distributing the funding made it too hard to access.
5 years ago
Billy Penn
Why Philly shut down its homeless COVID hotels, and why advocates are furious
A private prison company runs one of the temporary sites where residents are being relocated.
5 years ago