City of Pittsburgh - File #: 2026-0881

• File #: 2026-0881
• Version: 1
• Type: Will of Council
• Status: To Be Presented
• File created: 9/11/2026
• In control: City Council
• On agenda: 9/15/2026
• Title: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh urges the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh to reevaluate the voucher amounts for the two occupied units at OHDC’s Five Points property to allow the rents to be appropriately adjusted while allowing the existing long-term residents to remain in their homes; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh urges the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh to reevaluate its policies and administrative procedures governing rent adjustments for occupied Housing Choice Voucher units to ensure that housing providers have a viable mechanism to address significant rent disparities without requiring the displacement of existing residents.
• Sponsors: Bobby Wilson, All Members
• Indexes: WILL OF COUNCIL

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WHEREAS, the Observatory Hill Development Corporation (“OHDC”) is engaged in an ongoing issue with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (“HACP”) concerning the rents of two Housing Choice Voucher units at 3917-3925 Perrysville Ave that could ultimately result in the displacement of two long-term residents; and

WHEREAS, OHDC owns and operates the Five Points property at 3917-3925 Perrysville Ave, which includes six Housing Choice Voucher apartments and three commercial spaces; and

WHEREAS, two of the Housing Choice Voucher apartments remain occupied by long-term residents whose units were originally approved at rents significantly below HACP’s current payment standards for comparable units; and

WHEREAS, following the COVID-19 pandemic, OHDC has faced increasing operating costs, rents substantially below HACP’s current standards, and ongoing vacancies, making the property’s original financial projections and operating budgets unsustainable; and

WHEREAS, through tenant turnover, OHDC has been able to adjust the rents on several of the units; however, two units occupied by long-term residents remain at approximately half of the rent currently approved for comparable units; and

WHEREAS, under HACP’s current policies, rent increases for occupied units are limited to $100 annually and are subject to specific anniversary dates and advance-notice requirements, meaning it would take approximately ten years for the rents on the two affected units to reach HACP’s current standard rates; and

WHEREAS, HACP has advised OHDC that if an existing tenant leaves and the unit is subsequently inspected and reprocessed, OHDC may request that a new rent be established in line with HACP’s current standards; and

WHEREAS, OHDC has repeatedly engaged with HACP to seek a solution that would allow the existing tenants to remain in their homes and has requested an exception or alternative mechanism to address the rent disparity, but has been informed that no such option ...