NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10457
SPONSOR: Rules (Woerner) 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.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10457
IN ASSEMBLY
May 28, 2024
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Woerner) --
(at request of the New York State Homes and Community Renewal) -- read
once and referred to the Committee on Housing
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to permit-
ting certain home repairs to be financed in conjunction with accessi-
bility improvements through the access to home program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 1201 of the private housing
2 finance law, as added by chapter 159 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
3 read as follows:
4 4. "Access to home programs" or "programs" shall mean a series of
5 activities by an eligible applicant to administer funds to provide
6 either loans or grants to homeowners and renters and to oversee the
7 adaptation [or], retrofitting or repairs of eligible properties,
8 provided that such repairs are related to the habitability of an eligi-
9 ble property and such repairs are related to the adaptation or retrofit-
10 ting of an eligible property.
11 § 2. Section 1202 of the private housing finance law, as added by
12 chapter 159 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
13 § 1202. Access to home contracts. 1. Within the limit of funds avail-
14 able in the access to home program, the corporation is hereby authorized
15 to enter into contracts with eligible applicants to provide financial
16 assistance for the actual costs of an access to home program. Such
17 costs may include the costs of repairs of eligible properties, provided
18 that such repairs are related to the adaptation or retrofitting of such
19 eligible properties, that such repairs are related to the habitability
20 of such eligible properties, and that the access to home funds provided
21 to cover the cost of such repairs does not exceed sixty percent of the
22 access to home program grant or loan. The financial assistance shall be
23 either in the form of grants or loans, as the corporation shall deter-
24 mine. No more than fifty percent of the total amount awarded pursuant to
25 this article in any fiscal year shall be allocated to access to home
26 programs located within any single municipality.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14347-04-4
A. 10457 2
1 2. The total payment pursuant to any one contract shall not exceed
2 five hundred thousand dollars and the contract shall provide for
3 completion of the program within a reasonable period, as specified ther-
4 ein, which shall not in any event exceed three years from its commence-
5 ment. Upon request, the corporation may extend the term of the contract
6 for up to two additional one year periods for good cause shown by the
7 eligible applicant.
8 3. The corporation may authorize the eligible applicant to spend up to
9 [seven and a half] ten percent of the contract amount for approved
10 administrative costs associated with administering the program.
11 4. The corporation shall require that, in order to receive funds
12 pursuant to this article, the eligible applicant shall submit a plan
13 which shall include, but not be limited to, program feasibility, impact
14 on the community, budget for expenditure of program funds, a schedule
15 for completion of the program, affirmative action and minority business
16 participation.
17 § 3. Subdivision 5 of section 1271 of the private housing finance law,
18 as added by section 1 of part Y of chapter 56 of the laws of 2018, is
19 amended to read as follows:
20 5. "Access to home for heroes programs" or "programs" shall mean a
21 series of activities by an eligible applicant to administer funds to
22 provide grants to homeowners and renters and to oversee the adaptation
23 [or], retrofitting or repairs of eligible properties, provided that such
24 repairs are related to the habitability of an eligible property and such
25 repairs are related to the adaptation or retrofitting of an eligible
26 property.
27 § 4. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 1272 of the private housing
28 finance law, as added by section 1 of part Y of chapter 56 of the laws
29 of 2018, are amended to read as follows:
30 1. Within the limit of funds available in the access to home for
31 heroes program, the corporation is hereby authorized to enter into
32 contracts with eligible applicants to provide financial assistance for
33 the actual costs of an access to home for heroes program. Such costs may
34 include the costs of repairs of eligible properties, provided that such
35 repairs are related to the adaptation or retrofitting of such eligible
36 properties, that such repairs are related to the habitability of such
37 eligible properties, and that the access to home for heroes funds
38 provided to cover the cost of such repairs does not exceed sixty percent
39 of the access to home for heroes program grant or loan. The financial
40 assistance shall be in the form of grants. No more than fifty percent of
41 the total amount awarded pursuant to this article in any fiscal year
42 shall be allocated to access to home programs located within any single
43 municipality.
44 3. The corporation shall authorize the eligible applicant to spend
45 [seven and one-half] ten percent of the contract amount for approved
46 administrative costs associated with administering the program.
47 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
48 have become a law.
