(The Center Square) – As it stands, the PA Housing and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund, or PHARE, is capped at $100 million of the state’s ballooning budget.
Bipartisan sponsors passed a bill through the House that will raise that ceiling to $110 million beginning in 2028 and each year following.
The funding is derived from the state’s 1% Realty Transfer Tax and is set to increase automatically by $10 million annually between 2024 and 2028.
The funds go toward helping create, rehabilitate, or access affordable housing options. Champions of the fund point out that it’s particularly beneficial to older adults, people with disabilities, veterans, and other vulnerable groups.
“Affordable housing is a necessity that all Pennsylvanians deserve easy access to,” said prime sponsor Rep. Sean Dougherty, D-Philadelphia. “This bill takes a very necessary step to making more affordable housing options a real opportunity for many Pennsylvanians who are in need of it.”
The PHARE grants supported about 850 new housing units (mostly apartments) and rehabilitated another 2,400 units in 2023, along with helping more than 11,000 families get assistance with a down payment or rent and utilities.
The bill’s sponsors noted that the fund can be used for “transforming blighted neighborhoods marred by vacant, crumbling buildings into promising avenues for beautification, redevelopment, and hope.”
Some have argued that solving the state’s housing crisis could best be done by eliminating ref tape rather than increasing the budget for programs like PHARE.
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The House Appropriations committee released a fiscal note clarifying that the additional investment would be taken from the state’s general fund, which receives the bulk of Realty Transfer Tax revenue.
The bill passed 112-91.