The Housing Initiative at Penn
  • Home
  • About
    • People
    • Join Our Team
  • Our Work
    • COVID-19 and Housing
    • Universal Voucher
    • Housing Plans & Studies
    • Academic Research
  • Publications
  • In the News
  • Contact
A view of Philadelphia's Center City rising from the Schuylkill River.

PHILADELPHIA

HIP has partnered with the City of Philadelphia and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation to advise the development of, and to evaluate, the City's $10 million COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) Program.

OUR WORK IN PHILADELPHIA

OUR PARTNERS
Anne Fadullon, Director, Department of Planning and Development, City of Philadelphia
Melissa Long, Director, Housing and Community Development, City of Philadelphia
Gregory Heller, Senior Vice President of Community Investment, Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation
THE PROJECT
Philadelphia’s COVID-19 Emergency Rental Assistance (CERA) Program was one of the first CARES Act-funded rental relief programs to launch. It received over 10,000 eligible applicants during the initial application period (May 12th-16th) and will subsidize three months’ rent, up to $2,500 per household, for up to 4,000 households. After the initial three months of assistance, staff plan to re-certify households and may provide up to $10,000 per household for 12 months of rent assistance. A second wave of CERA assistance, funded through the state housing finance agency (PHFA), launched July 6th. This wave will provide up to $750 per month per household for up to six months.

​HIP is working with the City of Philadelphia to: 1) evaluate the impact of rental assistance on tenants' short- and long-term housing, health, education, and economic outcomes through a longitudinal survey linked with administrative data; and 2) evaluate landlord participation in the program through surveys and interviews.
OUR FUNDERS
Our work in Philadelphia is generously supported by the Stoneleigh Foundation.

LEARN MORE

Click here to read a blog post about Philadelphia's rental assistance program.
Read a blog post about rental assistance in Philadelphia. 
Click here to read a comparison of rental assistance programs.
Read a comparison of rental assistance programs across HIP partner cities. 
Click here to read about landlords whose tenants applied for rental assistance in Philadelphia
Read a brief on landlords' engagement with rental assistance in Philadelphia. 
Click here to read a more comprehensive report about landlords whose tenants applied for rental assistance in Philadelphia
HIP partnered with the Reinvestment Fund to study Philadelphia landlord perspectives and practices. 

DATA

Download a dataset about the current housing and socioeconomic landscape in Philadelphia.
​Access the Data Dictionary with information about each variable and additional resources HERE. 
PHILADELPHIA DATA
Return to the Housing Initiative at Penn homepage.

CONTACT US

Whether you're a policymaker, researcher, journalist, student, funder, or just someone who cares about housing - we would love to hear from you. Email us at housinginitiative@design.upenn.edu.

Visit PennPraxis' website.
Visit the Weitzman School of Design website.
  • Home
  • About
    • People
    • Join Our Team
  • Our Work
    • COVID-19 and Housing
    • Universal Voucher
    • Housing Plans & Studies
    • Academic Research
  • Publications
  • In the News
  • Contact