Housing

HB 344 amends Pennsylvania's Landlord and Tenant Act to require landlords to disclose parking availability and associated fees in rental leases. Landlords must state whether parking is provided, if a fee applies, and the exact amount - prohibiting fee increases during the lease term. Tenants can file complaints with lower courts (e.g., district justice) if landlords fail to comply, and landlords violating the rules must reimburse tenants for parking costs incurred. This directly affects landlords and tenants in Pennsylvania rental agreements involving parking.

HB 416 establishes a new Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention Program to support early childhood educators and creates a Rural Health Transformation Program to improve healthcare access in underserved areas. It also streamlines permit processes for economic development projects through the Streamlining Permits for Economic Expansion and Development Program. These provisions are integrated into the 2025 state budget implementation, alongside administrative updates to tax collection procedures, state fund management, and reporting requirements for agencies like the Department of Revenue and Treasury. The bill does not alter existing tax rates or create new funding streams but modifies how current state financial systems operate.

HB 1466 requires mortgage lenders in Pennsylvania to provide mandatory housing counseling to applicants before processing reverse mortgage loans. Specifically, licensees must arrange in-person, phone, or video counseling from a HUD-approved agency, covering reverse mortgage details and alternatives, and issue a certificate documenting the session. This applies to all applicants for reverse mortgages - loans secured by home equity that don’t require repayment until later - and mandates lenders to keep counseling records for the loan’s duration. The bill directly affects mortgage lenders and reverse mortgage applicants, aiming to improve consumer understanding of this complex financial product.

HB 316 allows Pennsylvania municipalities to deny building permits to property owners with specific unpaid debts or unaddressed violations. It directly affects owners of real property, particularly corporations or LLCs, who owe unpaid taxes, water/sewer bills, or have serious uncorrected code violations (like failing to fix blight) after six months of notification. The bill requires municipalities to specify the property address and court details in denial notices, prohibits denying permits needed to correct violations, and imposes a $1,000 fine on corporations that fail to disclose such delinquencies when applying for permits. It aims to prioritize blight remediation by linking permit access to property maintenance compliance.