Governor Josh Shapiro is committed to cutting costs and creating long-term housing solutions, which is why his 2025-26 proposed budget includes $50 million to update and restore the Commonwealth’s aging housing stock.
Lancaster, PA – Today, Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger joined local leaders in downtown Lancaster to highlight the Shapiro Administration’s commitment to ensuring all Pennsylvanians have access to safe, affordable housing.
Advancing that commitment with common sense solutions, Governor Josh Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget proposal calls for significant investments to restore and modernize Pennsylvania’s aging housing stock with a new $50 million statewide housing repair fund to help homeowners struggling to make needed repairs to their aging homes. The budget also proposes $10 million to help first-time home buyers cover closing costs, as well as $1 million in dedicated funding to the State Planning Board to help municipalities with growth-oriented housing policies.
“The Shapiro Administration understands that we must address the long-standing affordable housing crisis to build resilient regions and open doors of opportunity for every Pennsylvanian,” said Secretary Siger. “That’s why Governor Shapiro is building on his Executive Order from last year establishing our first ever Housing Action Plan by calling for critical investments in his proposed budget to tackle Pennsylvania’s housing challenges. We are committed to making real progress on affordable housing to get people into good homes, grow our economy, and lift up the entire Commonwealth.”
Secretary Siger and local leaders toured the neighborhood around SoWe Pocket Park as part of today’s event and saw first-hand several homes that have been repaired and upgraded. Through Gov. Shapiro’s $50 million housing repair fund, many more homes across the Commonwealth will receive these kinds of repairs.
“Lancaster is home to thousands of historic houses that need ongoing care. By investing in our aging housing stock, we help residents, whether seniors or young families, remain safely and comfortably in their homes,” said Mayor Sorace. “Every neighbor deserves access to quality housing, and programs that support essential home repairs are key to making that vision a reality in the City of Lancaster.”
“I have been involved with home repair programs in Lancaster for 15 years. In my view, they’re vital to the City of Lancaster,” said Allen Treadway, Owner, Treadway Home Improvement. “These programs help resolve housing issues for homeowners with limited resources. I take personal satisfaction in finishing projects for the homeowners that genuinely appreciate programs like these!”
Making housing more affordable and accessible has been one of the top priorities of the Shapiro Administration. Last September, the Governor signed an Executive Order to create Pennsylvania’s first ever Housing Action Plan. Since then, the Shapiro Administration has collected feedback from thousands of Pennsylvanians and worked directly with developers, nonprofits, local governments, and labor leaders to create a comprehensive, coordinated, statewide housing solution.
The final housing plan will be coming in the next few months, but the Administration has identified six key steps we can take immediately to begin to solve this problem that are included in the Governor’s 2025-26 budget proposal including:
- Investing $50 million to create a new statewide housing repair fund to help homeowners struggling to make needed repairs to their aging homes.
- Investing $10 million to help first-time home buyers cover closing costs — putting a roof over their head and giving them a real chance to build generational wealth here in the Commonwealth.
- Staffing up the State Planning Board, so it can help local communities fix their permitting, zoning, and code enforcement issues and build more homes.Creating an Interagency Council on Homelessness to improve support and coordination for homeless people in Pennsylvania.
- Continuing the progress we made last year by increasing Pennsylvania’s largest and most flexible affordable housing tool — the PA Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) — by an additional $10 million to reach $110 million by the end of 2028. In the last two years, these funds have been used to begin construction on 2,000 new homes and apartments and repair another 3,200.
- Sealing eviction records for people who were not actually evicted to help increase housing security and improve access to affordable housing and employment opportunities.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Governor’s Office, ra-gvgovpress@pa.gov, 717.783.1116
DCED, dcedpress@pa.gov
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