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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 5, 2023 12:10 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Stephen Kinsey and Rep. Tarik Khan |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Inclusionary Housing for New Developments |
| Finding affordable housing which costs no more than 30-50% of an individual’s income is getting increasingly difficult for many. It is alarming that it is impossible for someone earning minimum wage to afford a single-bedroom rental in 93% of counties nationwide, while working 40 hours a week. Affordable housing was desperately needed in 2019 and the problem has only worsened with the power imbalance between landlords and renters brought on by the pandemic. This problem disproportionately impacts communities of color and will only worsen if steps are not taken. Our legislation will require a developer of a project with 30 or more residential units to reserve 25% of those units for very low to middle income housing. Under the bill, in lieu of requiring this construction, a municipality would be able to impose a fee equal to 30% of the project cost. The fees collected from the developer would be deposited into an affordable housing trust fund for the development of very low to middle income housing in the municipality or for the development of community centers. In requiring the establishment of affordable housing, we are ensuring that working families will have a safe, affordable home to raise their children. In Pennsylvania, those who work hard and play by the rules, should be able to afford suitable housing. We can rebuild our communities better by ensuring the basic needs of housing are met for everyone. We hope you will join us in cosponsoring this legislation that will ensure affordable housing is available to those who desperately need it. |
Introduced as HB1257