In Greek mythology, there is the story of the Hydra—a snakelike monster with nine heads. It is formidable not only for its many snapping jowls, but also for its regenerative abilities. For every head chopped off, it can regrow two from its wound. The current economy for most working and middle class people is like the Hydra: For every expense paid, two pop up, more expensive than before.
Providence Revolving Fund (PRF) executive director Carrie Zaslow speaks to the unaffordability specifically of RI housing, saying “We know that there are a significant amount of Rhode Islanders who are cost burdened, meaning they are spending more than 30% of their income on housing. That’s true whether they own their house or they’re renters, and that’s a challenge.” In its 2024 Housing Fact Book, HousingWorksRI at Roger Williams University found that in Providence, 31% of owner households and 46% of renter households are cost burdened.
For Zaslow, the approach to increased affordability requires many different tools, but she underscores: “The one thing we should know is that we can not be losing our existing housing stock.”
In an effort to retain existing housing stock, the Revolving Fund has launched its Home Repair Program, which offers forgivable loans of up to $50,000 to eligible homes aged 50 years or older that have code violations. These loans can be used for various home repairs, including heating, electricity, accessibility improvements, roofing, lead mitigation, plumbing, and more. According to Zaslow, about 900 homes in Providence currently have code violations and about 300 are engaged in Housing Court. The home repair funds can help homeowners remedy any ongoing violations, to prevent future fines and potential loss of housing.
How the loans work
PRF, as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), provides funding to communities that are identified as underserved. Given the nature of their mission, as well as the funding model for the Home Repair Fund, there is an eligibility requirement for Home Repair Fund recipients. For properties in Providence, the owner’s annual income must be at or below 100% of Providence’s Area Median Income (AMI) in order to qualify. In 2024, the median income for a single person household in Providence was $78,680—meaning an owner earning an income below or equal to that number would be eligible for the Home Repair funds.
Recipients make no out-of-pocket payments and the loan is forgiven incrementally over the course of five years. The loans are funded by the State of Rhode Island and City of Providence through the American Rescue Plan Act. It remains uncertain if this funding through ARPA will be continued as the program disburses funds; however, Zaslow says she is “…Cautiously optimistic that there will be additional funds for similar programs.”
Given the high percentage of cost-burdened homeowners and renters alike, Zaslow and other Home Repair Fund advocates see two important benefits to the program: 1) It provides assistance with necessary home repairs that owners otherwise could not afford, but also 2) It creates the possibility for homeowners to convert parts of their homes into habitable accessory dwelling units (ADUs), creating more rentable housing stock.
Home Repairs Can Produce ADUs
ADUs can include interior dwellings similar to “in-law” suites or walkout basements, or in some cases, detached dwellings on the house’s property. The law regarding ADUs was amended last summer, with Gov. McKee signing the bill into law on June 25, allowing “homeowners statewide the right to develop a single ADU on an owner-occupied property to accommodate a disabled family member, or within the existing footprint of their structures or on any lot larger than 20,000 square feet, provided that the ADU’s design satisfies building code, size limits and infrastructure requirements.”
Significantly, the law prevents the ADUs from being used as short-term rentals. The goal of the legislation is to increase affordable housing stock for renters in residential areas, rather than creating lucrative investment opportunities for homeowners.
The legalization of ADUs within the current residential zoning codes is significant because it allows additional units to be created within single-family housing zones. According to HousingWorksRI’s Zoning Atlas project, “87% of RI is zoned for single-family by right,” while the percentages for multi-family housing by right are much lower. This means that building multi-family housing, which is often more affordable to rent or partially own than single-family, requires increased costs and time to undergo a public hearing to obtain the proper permits. Using their Atlas tool, “an interactive mapping tool that provides an unprecedented look at zoning conditions impacting housing and development across the state,” the following maps of Providence show zoning districts in which ADUs would be allowed versus 2-family housing.
Accessing funds
While the organization is called Providence Revolving Fund, its services are statewide. While the Home Repair Fund and the recent legislation regarding ADUs are just two small steps towards improved housing affordability in Providence, they hopefully can provide some relief for the time being, as advocates and organizations work towards slaying the Hydra of expenses attacking working and middle class residents.
And for Zaslow, preservation isn’t just about saving buildings: “Preservation is of course always the beautiful house that is 250 years old and that could look like a museum. But, you know what? The ranch style house in Elmhurst is equally as important. The three-story tenement that’s just off of Broad Street is also equally important. We want to make sure that we are doing what we can to preserve our existing housing stock—and that means that we are making our home repair loans available to everyone.”
Interested homeowners looking to apply for the Home Repair Fund can apply for the program online at revolvingfund.org/rihrp or by calling 401-272-2760.
Dana Schneider is a writer and poet living in South Providence with her cat named Froggy. She enjoys gardening, reading, and hanging out in Providence’s many beautiful parks.