At the request of state Sens. Vincent Hughes (D-Philadelphia), Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia), and Nikil Saval (D-Philadelphia), the Pennsylvania Democratic Policy Committee held a virtual public hearing on Wednesday to look into the effects COVID-19 has had on the existing housing crisis.
“For too long, the struggles of Pennsylvanians to find housing, and to stay housed, have been rendered invisible. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated a crisis that has been generations in the making and which is endemic to a society that treats housing as a commodity rather than as a right. As legislators, we have an opportunity, right now, to listen to our constituents—to make these struggles visible—and to furnish legislative solutions to mitigate decades of neglect and harm,” Saval said.
Saval, along with Sens. Katie Muth (D-Berks/Chester/Montgomery), Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, and Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks), has co-sponsored a bill to address mortgage deferment and rent forgiveness that would benefit both property owners and renters. The bill, Senate Bill 466, the Housing Security Act, would outline the mortgage deferment processes for homeowners and landlords with tenants unable to keep up with rent payments.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed just how critical housing is in living a healthy, stable life,” Hughes said. “We have seen looming eviction crises, and many of our people have been constantly at the risk of losing shelter for more than a year. Some have lost their homes and been forced to find other means to survive in the middle of a pandemic. There is something wrong with this picture. The legislature must take steps to address housing access and insecurity immediately so that our people can have peace of mind as we emerge from this pandemic and beyond.”
Act 1 of 2021 of the Pennsylvania General Assembly allocated $569 million for Pennsylvania households in need of housing relief, while an additional $278 million was allocated for emergency rental assistance.
Witnesses at the hearing testified that while many Pennsylvanians face eviction, foreclosure, and housing instability due to the pandemic, housing issues in the state existed before it.
In just Chester County, an estimated 499 sheltered and 23 unsheltered individuals were homeless on a given night before the pandemic.
Advocates said the legislature should do more to regulate leases and landlords, especially in holding landlords accountable for the quality of their units and allowing renters to break their leases more easily if their units become unlivable.