Homes could get one grant for repairs and upgrades

In the federal House, a bill backed by Republican Rep. French Hill of Arkansas and Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters of California would create a pilot for whole-home repairs. For families living with a house that needs more than one fix, the point is to stop treating a broken step, a leaky roof and a wasteful furnace as separate problems that have to be tackled one at a time.

The proposal would let grants support accessibility work, habitability repairs and energy-efficiency upgrades in the same project. That matters because the cost of fixing a home often grows when each problem is handled on its own, especially in older properties where one repair exposes the next one.

One grant, three problems

The pilot would send money to organizations that would administer the repair work for eligible homeowners and landlords. The idea is to make it easier to coordinate the kind of work that can keep someone in place, rather than forcing them to choose between mobility changes, basic safety and lower utility bills.

The program would not run indefinitely. It would terminate on Oct. 1, 2031, giving Congress a limited test of whether bundling repairs together actually makes homes safer, easier to live in and cheaper to keep warm or cool.