BILL NUMBER: S9699A
SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to permit-
ting certain home repairs to be financed in conjunction with accessibil-
ity improvements through the access to home program
 
PURPOSE OF THE BILL:
The bill would amend the Access to Home and Access to Home for Heroes
programs to permit home repairs related to habitability to be financed
with program funds in conjunction with accessibility improvements. The
bill would contain a cost ratio cap between the repairs and the modifi-
cations and would increase the administrative costs that can be paid to
service providers.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends Subdivision 4 of Section 1201 of the
Private Housing Finance Law to permit home repairs to be financed with
Access to Home program funds in conjunction with accessibility improve-
ments as long as the home repairs are related to habitability.
Section 2 of the bill amends Section 1202 of the Private Housing Finance
Law to incorporate the allowance for home repairs to be financed with
Access to Home program funds in conjunction with accessibility improve-
ments as long as the home repairs are related to habitability, cap
permissible home repair costs at sixty percent of the Access to Home
program grant or loan, and increase the approved administrative costs to
ten percent of the Access to Home contract amount.
Section 3 of the bill amends Subdivision 5 of Section 1271 of the
Private Housing Finance Law to permit home repairs to be financed with
Access to Home for Heroes program funds in conjunction with accessibil-
ity improvements as long as the home repairs are related to habitabili-
ty.
Section 4 of the bill amends Section 1272 of the Private Housing Finance
Law to incorporate the allowance for home repairs to be financed with
Access to Home for Heroes program funds in conjunction with accessibil-
ity improvements as long as the home repairs are related to habitabili-
ty, cap permissible home repair costs at sixty percent of the Access to
Home for Heroes program grant or loan, and increase the approved admin-
istrative costs to ten percent of the Access to Home for Heroes contract
amount.
Section 5 of the bill provides that the bill will take effect on the
ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Many homeowners with disabilities live in homes that require modifica-
tions for accessibility' and repairs for health and safety purposes. The
Access to Home and Access to Home for Heroes programs were implemented
to assist funding the cost of accessibility modifications, enabling low-
and moderate-income people with disabilities to continue living safely
and comfortably in their homes.
While the Access to Home and Access to Home for Heroes programs have
provided funding to complete these accessibility modifications, both
programs have the shortcoming of not allowing funding to be used for
necessary home repairs. For example, a homeowner could receive funding
to install a roll-in shower, but they could not use any portion of that
funding to repair nonfunctioning plumbing.
This bill would fill the gap and permit home repairs related to habita-
bility to be financed along with accessibility adaptations. Filling
this gap will remove health and safety risks, enabling people with disa-
bilities to remain in their homes. In addition, the expansion of funding
will allow individuals with disabilities to take care of multiple major
projects at once, rather than having to cobble together improvements
from different contractors, potentially increasing complexity, cost, and
disturbance to the homeowner's life.
Finally, the increased administrative costs will entice more nonprofit
organizations to administer the program, thereby expanding the geograph-
ic scope of the program, which will provide additional funding to indi-
viduals with disabilities.
While providing access to critical home repairs is a key component in
removing health and safety risks in the homes of people with disabili-
ties, the Access to Home and Access to Home for Heroes programs remain
primarily focused on providing funding for accessibility modifications,
and no home repairs could be financed unless in conjunction with acces-
sibility, improvements.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
This is a new bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
N/A
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
All provisions of the bill shall be effective on the ninetieth day after
it shall have become a law.

Statutes affected:
S9699: 1201 private housing finance law, 1201(4) private housing finance law, 1202 private housing finance law, 1271 private housing finance law, 1271(5) private housing finance law
S9699A: 1201 private housing finance law, 1201(4) private housing finance law, 1202 private housing finance law, 1271 private housing finance law, 1271(5) private housing finance law