Senate Democrats Highlight Housing Legislation to Deliver Safe, Affordable Housing to Every Pennsylvanian

HARRISBURG, PA − June 24, 2026 − Members of the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Caucusgathered in the Main Capitol Rotunda today to champion bills, initiatives, and investments that will bring down the cost of housing for Pennsylvanians and empower renters.

"As the cost of housing and utilities continue to climb and burden Pennsylvania's working families, Senate Democrats are keenly focused on fighting for a safe, affordable place to call home for every Pennsylvanian," said Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa. "Senate Democrats have been leading the way in the housing space, and we continue to advocate strongly for our colleagues across the aisle to join us in tackling the housing crisis facing our Commonwealth."

Senators drew attention to the myriad successes the caucus has secured in the housing space over the past few years, including the creation of the Housing Opportunities Program, dramatic increases in funding to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the creation of the Whole Home Repairs Program, and the passage of a Pittsburgh Longterm Owner Occupant Tax Exemption Program (LOOP).

However, despite these successes, Pennsylvania continues to lack the necessary affordable housing stock to ensure a safe, affordable home for every Pennsylvanian. As a part of the Governor's Housing Action Plan, the Department of Community and Economic Development estimates that Pennsylvania will need to build 450,000 new housing units by 2035 to meet projected demand, but without a change in the rate of construction, will fall short by nearly 185,000 homes. Additionally, renters and manufactured homeowners continue to face skyrocketing costs and fees with hardly any legal protection from exploitation.

As of this morning, President Trump is withholding his signature from the 21^st Century ROAD to Housing Bill, a landmark, bipartisan affordable housing bill in an attempt to disenfranchise millions of voters and rig future elections in his party's favor.

As such, Senate Democrats highlighted bills at the state level that would remove barriers to homeownership, increase Pennsylvania's affordable housing stock, and support renters. Some of those bills include:

• SB 549, which would seal or limit access to eviction records for PA tenants
• SB 1203, which would tackle "tangled titles" and remove barriers to homeownership
• SB 294, which would remove the cap on housing projects currently in the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) law, allowing the program to better support the housing needs of the Commonwealth and make significant progress on closing our housing unit gap.
• SB 746, which would protect residents of manufactured home communities from unjustified lot rent and fee increases, especially from private equity companies

"Affordable housing is really at the core of Pennsylvania's affordability crisis," said Senator Vincent Hughes. "Senate Democrats understand the need and we have solutions. Now it's time for Senate Republicans to join us in getting those solutions over the finish line. We have the opportunity to lift up entire communities by securing these affordable housing investments and implementing commonsense policies that protect our homeowners."

"The need for action is clear and urgent: hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvania homes are estimated to need critical repairs, and nearly 17,000 people remain on program waitlists," said Senator Nikil Saval. "Add on top utility bills and insurance rates, and it's no wonder so many homeowners are struggling to afford repairs. The Pennsylvania Home Preservation Program is a major step toward disrupting the ongoing cycle of unaffordability and disrepair, speculation, and community displacement. We need to move this bill, pass it, and fund it for years to come."

"Housing is a cause of angst for everyone from young families to seniors. No sector of our housing market is immune from steep price increases, including manufactured home communities," said Senator Judy Schwank. "We have commonsense proposals to protect manufactured homeowners, most of whom are seniors, veterans, and folks with disabilities, from price gouging. This budget is a tremendous opportunity to take action and show Pennsylvanians that we are serious about finding solutions to our housing crisis."

"One of the most important ways we can address the housing crisis is by cutting red tape and removing barriers to home ownership," said Senator James Malone. "I introduced SB 1203 to help counties streamline small property title changes to help families of modest means more easily establish legal ownership of homes passed down to them. I'm proud to present this alongside Governor Shapiro and my colleagues' other proposals, which will work on the housing crisis from multiple angles."

Learn more about how Senate Democrats are fighting for safe, affordable homes for every Pennsylvanian at PASenate.com/Housing.

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