PRINTER'S NO. 1733
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
1168
Session of
2020
INTRODUCED BY KILLION, ARGALL, SCAVELLO, YAW, FARNESE AND
SCHWANK, JUNE 4, 2020
REFERRED TO COMMUNITY, ECONOMIC AND RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT,
JUNE 4, 2020
AN ACT
Amending Title 35 (Health and Safety) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in COVID-19 disaster emergency,
providing for COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance Program;
and imposing duties on the Pennsylvania Housing Finance
Agency.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 57 of Title 35 of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes is amended by adding a subchapter to read:
SUBCHAPTER F
COVID-19 EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Sec.
5751. Definitions.
5752. Purpose.
5753. Program.
5754. Qualifications of eligible persons.
5755. Amount of funds to be dispersed.
5756. Disbursement of funds.
5757. Repayment of funds dispersed.
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§ 5751. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this subchapter
shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Agency." The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
"COVID-19." The coronavirus disease 2019, an infectious
disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 that was first identified during December 2019 in Wuhan,
China.
"Program." The Emergency Rental Assistance Program
established by this subchapter.
§ 5752. Purpose.
The purpose of this subchapter is to help this Commonwealth's
residential tenants who experienced a financial setback
attributable to COVID-19 and are unable to pay their rent
because of their financial setback. The funds dispersed by the
program shall be used solely for the purpose of providing
emergency rental assistance to residential tenants of this
Commonwealth.
§ 5753. Program.
(a) Establishment.--The Emergency Rental Assistance Program
is established and shall be administered by the agency.
(b) Applications.--A tenant who is eligible under section
5754 (relating to qualifications of eligible persons) must apply
on a form prescribed by the agency for assistance under the
program.
(c) Documentation.--The tenant must provide the necessary
information and documentation to the agency with the application
before funds are dispersed.
(d) Verification.--The agency shall verify with landlords of
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tenants who apply for the program the amount of rent owed or
past due.
(e) Funding.--The agency shall identify amounts of Federal
Government assistance provided to this Commonwealth with regard
to the COVID-19 pandemic which may be available for the purposes
of this program and allocate those amounts to the program.
§ 5754. Qualifications of eligible persons.
The following tenants who reside in a residential property in
this Commonwealth owned by a landlord and who are more than 30
days past due on their rent shall be eligible for the program if
the tenant:
(1) Either:
(i) is served with a summons and complaint for
eviction for lack of payment of rent due to circumstances
relating to COVID-19; or
(ii) the household is unable to make rental payments
due to circumstances relating to COVID-19; and
(2) Has a household annualized current income of no more
than the upper limit of "medium income" as defined in
guidelines published annually by the United States Department
of Housing and Urban Development.
§ 5755. Amount of funds to be dispersed.
(a) Funding formula.--The agency shall devise a formula for
the distribution of funds based on fair market rents in each
county, according to the most recent fair market rents published
by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(b) Publication.--The agency shall transmit a notice of the
formula used to the Legislative Reference Bureau for publication
in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
§ 5756. Disbursement of funds.
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(a) General rule.--Upon verification of the amount of rent
due and a determination that an applicant satisfies all program
requirements under section 5754 (relating to qualifications of
eligible persons), the agency shall disburse a payment of
program funds directly to the landlord on the tenant's behalf.
(b) Receipt of payment.--The landlord shall provide a copy
of the disbursement directly to the tenant.
(c) Application of payment.--A landlord that accepts payment
from the agency under this act shall apply the payment to the
tenant's balance owed or past due.
§ 5757. Repayment of funds dispersed.
An eligible person shall not be required to reimburse the
Commonwealth for money paid on behalf of the tenant under this
subchapter, even if the eligible person's circumstances make the
eligible person capable of paying back the funds to the
Commonwealth at a future date.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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