Housing rehabilitation grants were recently awarded to Mount Carmel Township and Borough.
Both the Township and Borough are receiving $300,000 for no-cost home repairs for eligible residents. Qualified residents may receive up to $50,000 for housing rehabilitation expenses. Mount Carmel Township residents may qualify for an additional $15,000 to address lead-based paint hazard reduction.
The funds are from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME.) HOME is a federally funded program that provides municipalities with grant and loan assistance to expand and preserve the supply of decent and affordable housing for low- and very low-income Pennsylvanians.
“Pennsylvanians deserve safe, up-to-code, and accessible spaces to call home,” said Gov. Tom Wolf in the press release announcing the funding. “The HOME funding will help provide access to these spaces to individuals across the commonwealth…”
Teri Provost, Chief of SEDA-COG’s Community Services Division, spoke of the value of the program.
“We are passionate about empowering our communities to have the best, most affordable housing possible by rehabilitating existing homes at no cost to eligible homeowners,” Provost said. “When we partner with communities on these efforts, it helps the homeowner, it maintains the communities’ tax base, and it increases property values.”
Eligible repairs include structural, roofing, plumbing, electrical, heating/furnace, window replacement, radon and lead-based paint mitigation, and energy-related improvements. Modifications for mobility-impaired residents are also eligible within this program. Homeowners must maintain home residency over a five-year period from the date of signing in order for this service to be received at no cost.
Qualifications:
• Must live in the Township or Borough limits of Mount Carmel;
• Own the home or have Life Rights to live in it;
• Meet income qualifications based on household size;
• Be current on local taxes and municipal utility bills;
• Provide proof of homeowner’s insurance;
• Live in the home an additional five years.
Additional requirements may apply.
Annual Gross Income Limits:
Family size: 1 – $40,850; 2 – $46,650; 3 – $52,500; 4 – $58,300; 5 – $63,000; 6 – $67,650; 7 – $72,300; 8 – $77,000.
SEDA-COG oversees the entire process for the homeowner.
“We make the project easy on the homeowner by managing it from start to finish, including obtaining the contractor,” Provost said.
Interested residents may call SEDA-COG’s call Stacy Anderson at 570-524-4491 Ext. 7215.
