$10M to go toward affordable housing programs in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh City Council has approved a $10 million budget for a trust fund supporting affordable housing programs in the city.

The amount of money provided to the Housing Opportunity Fund in 2024 could be adjusted in the coming weeks as City Council finalizes the city’s budget, Councilman Bruce Kraus, D-South Side, said.

The fund, created in 2016, also received $10 million this year.

The spending plan, approved by City Council on Tuesday, includes $2 million for the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Rental Gap Program, which provides loans to nonprofit developers that create and preserve affordable housing. Of that, $1.75 million will be designated for housing for people making no more than 30% of the area median income, with the rest designated for people making no more than half of the area median income.

The area median income ranges from $70,300 for one person to $132,600 for a household of eight, according to the URA.

The fund also includes more than $3 million for the Homeowner Assistance Program, which provides up to $35,000 in financial assistance to eligible low-income homeowners planning to make home improvements.

A $1.4 million allocation will fund a program that offers legal help for housing-related matters including title services, foreclosure protection and mediation for renters.

An additional $850,000 is budgeted for housing stabilization efforts, including help with rent, mortgage and utilities for people making no more than half of the area median income.

The URA’s down payment and closing cost assistance initiative is set to receive $700,000, and for-sale development initiatives will get $650,000.

There is no money budgeted for the Small Landlord Fund in 2024, though it received $400,000 this year. The program gives money to landlords with up to 10 units so they can preserve existing affordable housing or convert market-rate or vacant housing into affordable housing. Officials said the program has yet to expend most of the money it received in the this year’s budget, which is why it isn’t slated to get extra cash next year.