An Act to create 20.490 (7) and 234.663 of the statutes; Relating to: a home repair program and making an appropriation. (FE)
Summary
AB916 creates a new Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) home repair program to help address unsafe or substandard housing conditions, improve energy efficiency, and make homes more accessible for people with disabilities. The program would provide grants to eligible homeowners and interest-free loans to certain small landlords for repairs and rehabilitation work on residential housing units used as primary residences, including manufactured homes.
The bill limits assistance to units that are between 10 and 40 years old and caps awards at $25,000 per unit. Homeowners must have household income at or below 100 percent of area median income, and landlords must own no more than five properties and 15 residential units that are rented as affordable housing. The bill also prioritizes homeowners with disabilities and households with children age 5 or younger, and it includes repayment provisions if a property is sold within four years after receiving assistance. Funding would come from 50 percent of certain real estate transfer fee revenues transmitted to the state, and WHEDA would be required to report annually on program activity and outcomes.
Impact
AB916 would create new statutory authority in chapter 234 for WHEDA to administer a statewide home repair grant-and-loan program and would earmark a portion of real estate transfer fee revenues in s. 20.490 (7) (g) for that purpose. It would affect homeowners, small landlords, county or nonprofit program administrators, and WHEDA by establishing eligibility rules, application and reporting requirements, administrative cost limits, audit authority, and clawback provisions tied to resale of assisted properties. The bill would not directly change landlord-tenant law generally, but it would create a new housing assistance mechanism aimed at preserving habitable, energy-efficient, and accessible housing stock.
Sentiment
The available record shows no committee transcript or recorded votes, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge formal sentiment. Based on the bill’s structure, it appears designed as a housing affordability and home-preservation measure with support-oriented features such as grants, interest-free loans, and prioritization for vulnerable households. The introduction by a large bipartisan-looking coalition of Assembly authors and several Senate cosponsors suggests at least some broad interest in the proposal, though no vote history is available to confirm support or opposition.
Contention
The main potential points of contention are likely to be the funding source, the use of real estate transfer fee revenues, and the scope of eligibility. Some stakeholders may question diverting transfer fee revenue to a new program, while others may object to limiting assistance to homes built between 10 and 40 years ago or to small landlords only. The clawback rules, income caps, and administrative limits may also draw scrutiny from applicants, landlords, or program administrators concerned about compliance burdens, resale restrictions, or whether the program is targeted narrowly enough to reach the most in-need properties.