Bill Text: IL HB5506 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates the Senior Home Preservation Program Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to implement and administer the Senior Home Preservation Program to provide grants to agencies to provide minor rehabilitation services to legacy resident low-income senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and safety of their homes. Provides that grants may be used for housing owned by eligible seniors to reduce the cost of repair and rehabilitation, to remove or correct health or safety hazards, to comply with applicable housing standards or codes, or to make needed repairs to improve the general living conditions of the seniors including improved accessibility for seniors with disabilities. Provides that "legacy resident senior homeowner" means any person 62 years of age or older or 55 and older with a disability who has lived in a community family home (single-family home or owner-occupied building of up to 4 units) for at least 10 years. Defines other terms. Creates the Senior Home Preservation Program Fund as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of provide grants to agencies to provide minor rehabilitation services to eligible senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and safety of their homes. Amends the State Finance Act to include the fund as a special fund.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-04-24 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. La Shawn K. Ford [HB5506 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB5506-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB5506 Introduced , by Rep. Kevin John Olickal SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
New Act
30 ILCS 105/5.1015 new
Creates the Senior Home Preservation Program Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to implement and administer the Senior Home Preservation Program to provide grants to agencies to provide minor rehabilitation services to legacy resident low-income senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and safety of their homes. Provides that grants may be used for housing owned by eligible seniors to reduce the cost of repair and rehabilitation, to remove or correct health or safety hazards, to comply with applicable housing standards or codes, or to make needed repairs to improve the general living conditions of the seniors including improved accessibility for seniors with disabilities. Provides that "legacy resident senior homeowner" means any person 62 years of age or older or 55 and older with a disability who has lived in a community family home (single-family home or owner-occupied building of up to 4 units) for at least 10 years. Defines other terms. Creates the Senior Home Preservation Program Fund as a special fund in the State treasury for the purpose of provide grants to agencies to provide minor rehabilitation services to eligible senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and safety of their homes. Amends the State Finance Act to include the fund as a special fund.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning housing.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Senior
Home Preservation Program Act.
Section 5. Legislative intent. The purpose of this Act is
to establish a home repair program to promote safe and
habitable housing for legacy resident seniors.
Section 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:
"Delegate agency" means a contract with a unit of local
government, not-for-profit or for-profit organization approved
by the Department to carry out the provisions of this Act to
targeted communities and paid on a pass-through basis.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Disability" means, with respect to an individual:
(1) a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities of the
individual;
(2) a record of such an impairment; or
(3) being regarded as having such an impairment. An
individual meets the requirement of "being regarded as
having such an impairment" if the individual establishes

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that he or she has been subjected to an action prohibited
under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 because
of an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment
whether or not the impairment limits or is perceived to
limit a major life activity.
"Habitability concerns" means home repairs that are
required to ensure residential units are any of the following:
(1) fit for human habitation;
(2) free from defective conditions or health and
safety hazards, including asbestos, mold, pests, or lead;
or
(3) free of conditions preventing installation of
measures to improve energy or water efficiency and lower
utility costs.
"Homeowner" means a person or persons who are any of the
following:
(1) an owner of record evidenced by a publicly
recorded deed;
(2) an owner-occupant of a manufactured home who
leases a space in a manufactured home community; or
(3) an equitable owner who can demonstrate an
ownership interest in a property as provided by law,
including:
(i) a person who has inherited an interest in a
property;
(ii) a person who has entered a contract to

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purchase a property;
(iii) a person who was the owner of record before a
fraudulent conveyance of the property; or
(iv) a person who is a trust beneficiary and a
person holding a partial ownership interest in a
property such as tenancy by the entirety, joint
tenancy, tenancy in common, and life estate.
"Home modification" means any change to the structure of a
residential home or property to create barrier free living,
provide access to and from the home, create universal design,
or avoid institutionalized or congregate placement for persons
with a disability.
"Legacy resident senior homeowner" means any person 62
years of age or older or 55 and older with a disability who has
lived in his or her community family home (single-family home
or owner-occupied building of up to 4 units) for at least 10
years.
"Low-income" means a household income that does not exceed
200% of area median income.
"Minor rehabilitation services" includes but is not
limited to the following, not to exceed $20,000 per unit for:
security devices (installation of sprinkler systems, smoke
detectors and deadbolt locks, and other devices for security
purposes); conservation (costs required to increase the
efficient use of water such as water saving faucets and shower
heads) and improvements to increase the efficient use of

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energy in structures through such means as installation of
storm windows and doors, insulation, and modification or
replacement of heating and cooling equipment; water and sewer
(costs of connecting existing residential structures to water
distribution lines or local sewer collection lines); plumbing
(costs related to fixing leaky or exposed pipes; unclogging
sinks, tubs, and toilets; repairing or replacing faucets;
replacing sump pumps and toilet tank workings; resetting or
replacing toilets); electrical repairs (costs related to
repairing or replacing light switches, sockets, light
fixtures, ceiling fans, and doorbells; tools (costs of
acquiring tools to be lent to licensed, skilled laborers who
will use the tools to carry out rehabilitation); barrier
removal (costs related to installing handrails, grab bars, and
non-slip mats and treads); installing hand-held showers;
repairing steps and flooring; changing and fixing interior
doors; improving lighting, including night-lights for the
bathroom; removing floor clutter; rearranging furniture;
removing material and architectural barriers to restrict the
mobility and accessibility of older and disabled persons to
buildings and improvements that are eligible for
rehabilitation under this category); or landscaping,
sidewalks, and driveways (costs of installation or replacement
of landscape materials, sidewalks, and driveways when
incidental to other rehabilitation of the property).

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Section 15. Senior Home Preservation Program.
(a) Subject to the availability of appropriations in an
amount sufficient to implement and administer the provisions
of this Act, the Department shall establish a Senior Home
Preservation Program to provide grants to delegate agencies to
provide minor rehabilitation services to legacy resident
low-income senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and
safety of their homes. Grants provided under the program may
be used for housing owned by a legacy resident senior to reduce
the cost of repair and rehabilitation, to remove or correct
health or safety hazards, to comply with applicable housing
standards or codes, or to make needed repairs to improve the
general living conditions of the legacy resident senior,
including improved accessibility for seniors with
disabilities.
Home repair project types. The program shall provide
funding for the following: to ensure low-income legacy
resident seniors' homes are free of habitability concerns, to
provide home modifications allowing for independent living,
and to improve coordination across existing home repair
programs.
(b) Applicants must apply to the program in a form and
manner prescribed by the Department. To qualify for repairs
from a delegate agency, the applicant must, at a minimum, be
the owner of the home and use the home as his or her primary
residence. The Department may also establish minimum housing

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standards applicants must meet to qualify for a grant under
the program.
(c) Program funds shall not supplant existing resources
dedicated to existing home repair programs, but may be used to
support, expand and enhance existing home repair programs as
provided under this Act.
(d) The Department may adopt any rules necessary to
implement the program.
Section 20. Senior Home Preservation Program Fund. The
Senior Home Preservation Program Fund is created as a special
fund in the State treasury. In addition to any other amounts
deposited into the Fund, there shall be deposited into the
Fund all moneys donated to the State by private individuals or
entities for purposes for which moneys in the Fund may be used
as provided in this Section. Subject to appropriations, the
Department of Human Services shall use moneys in the Fund to
make grants to provide grants to delegate agencies to provide
minor rehabilitation services to legacy resident low-income
senior homeowners to preserve the habitability and safety of
their homes. Provides that grants may be used for housing
owned by a legacy resident senior to reduce the cost of repair
and rehabilitation, to remove or correct health or safety
hazards, to comply with applicable housing standards or codes,
or to make needed repairs to improve the general living
conditions of the legacy resident senior, including improved

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accessibility for seniors with disabilities.
Section 90. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.1015 as follows: