Relates to the residential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly program

1 Co-sponsor

• Susan Serino

Title of bill

An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to residential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly program

Purpose

This bill establishes the Residential Emergency Services to Offer (Home) Repairs to the Elderly Program to provide financial resources to assist senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety, or affecting the livability of their home.

Summary of provisions

Section one provides for creation of the Residential Emergency Services to Offer (Home) Repairs to the Elderly (RESTORE) Program and sets forth definitions. Within the funding available, units of local government and eligible not-for-profit organizations with experience in housing and community development activities, may apply to the Housing Trust Fund Corporation to administer local RESTORE programs. Program contracts may not exceed $500,000 and must be completed within three years, with the provision for two additional one year extensions. Municipalities and not-for-profit organizations serving as local program administrators shall be entitled to a 7.5% administrative fee.

Eligible senior homeowners, age sixty and over, with an annual household income of less than 100% of area median income may apply through local RESTORE programs for emergency home repair services. Local program administrators administering the RESTORE program must respond and inspect eligible properties within 72-hours; qualified repairs must be commenced within seven calendar days and completed within thirty calendar days of the start of the repairs, unless otherwise determined by the agency. The total amount of repairs may not exceed $10,000.

Section two provides that this act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become law.

Justification

The enacted 2016-17 budget appropriated $1.4 million for the Housing Opportunities Program for the Elderly. This program assists senior citizen homeowners with the cost of addressing emergencies and code violations that pose a threat to their health and safety, or affecting the livability of their home. It is administered by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) and Housing Trust Fund Corporation, as the Residential Emergency Services to Offer (Home) Repairs to the Elderly (RESTORE) Program.

Over the last seventeen years, nearly $9 million in resources have been allocated for the RESTORE program through the Division of Housing and Community Renewal's budget appropriation. In response to growing need and increased program demand, the annual appropriation for this program has more than tripled in the last two fiscal years. This bill recognizes the importance of the RESTORE program in addressing emergency home repairs for seniors, by providing for its permanency in statute. It also ensures that program requirements remain consistent and responsive to local needs, while also providing greater predictability for the municipalities and not-for-profit organizations serving as local program administrators.

Legislative history

New bill

Fiscal implications

None. The enacted FY 2016-17 budget appropriated $1.4 million within DHCR's Capital Projects budget for the Housing Opportunities Program for the Elderly. This program is operated as the Residential Emergency Services to Offer (Home) Repairs to the Elderly (RESTORE) Program.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after it shall have become law.