Housing Preservation Program

About the Program

The Housing Preservation Program (HPP) helps fund the acquisition, renovation, or operations of existing subsidized or naturally occurring affordable rental units located within the City of Pittsburgh. HPP aims to quickly deploy funding to development partners looking to acquire affordable rental property portfolios that come on the market, preventing the loss of existing affordable housing stock that is at risk of turning market rate. HPP is also intended to assist nonprofit and forprofit developers that seek to keep properties affordable instead of transitioning the units to market rate.

The URA is currently accepting funding applications.

Funding Amount

• The loan amount is determined by the number of affordable units, up to $50,000 per unit, dependent on program funding availability.
  
  
• The maximum loan amount is set at $1,500,000 per project. Requests above the maximum loan amount will be entertained based on program funding availability and portfolio unit count.

Loan Term

• 20 to 40 years
  
  
• HPP financing shall not mature prior to senior debt on the participating property.

Interest Rate

Loans may carry an interest rate determined appropriate through URA staff underwriting as well as requirements of equity investors.

Loan Repayment

The loan repayment schedule will be based upon the borrower's capacity to repay the loan through the project's operating income as determined by the URA, using the projected operating cashflow analysis.

For deferred loans, a balloon payment of principal and interest, will be due on the loan’s maturity date.

Eligibility Requirements

• Eligible borrowers must contribute no less than $3,000 per unit in equity to an eligible project. Borrower contribution may be reduced to $1,000 per unit for non-profit development entities, subject to URA staff underwriting procedures.
  
  
• Borrowers must submit an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan.
  
  
• All affordable units assisted through HPP shall remain affordable for a minimum period of 40 years.
  
  
• All affordable units shall comply with the resident income restrictions, affordability, and related covenant requirements for assisted units, tenant protections, and housing quality standards of the HOME Investments Partnership Program.
  
  
• Eligible projects should not result in a net decrease of affordable housing units or project-based subsidies. As determined on a case-by-case basis, this requirement may be waived if a participating project results in a net reduction of units but increased unit sizes.
  
  
• If the project involves the conversion of non-affordable housing units to affordable housing units, the developer must convert the units to be affordable to households at or below 80% of AMI and comply with the Federal Program Requirements.
  
  
• No project receiving HPP financing may deny housing to a Housing Choice Voucher holder solely because they are a voucher holder. The URA reserves the right to request denied tenant applications for HPP supported projects.

Rent Limits and the Affordability Period

• All loans shall have a Declaration and Agreement of Restrictive Covenants recorded on the property to ensure affordability throughout the affordability period.
  
  
• The borrower must agree to comply with the specified income and rent limits and the Federal Program Requirements for at least 40 years.

How to Apply

Please submit all applications through the URA’s Ion Wave Technologies Platform.

To submit your application and receive notifications, you must first register with the Ion Wave system. Instructions on how to register can be found here.

Program Materials

Program Guidelines

Program Application