The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is a type of United States
federal assistance
In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governm ...
that the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Ur ...
affordable housing
Affordable housing is housing which is deemed affordable to those with a household income at or below the median as rated by the national government or a local government by a recognized housing affordability index. Most of the literature on af ...
, particularly housing for low and very low income
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
.''HOME Investment Partnerships Program'' (CFDA 14.239) OMB Circular A-133 Compliance Supplement ; Part 4: Agency Program Requirements: Department of Housing and Urban Development, pg. 4-14.239-1 It is the largest Federal block grant to states and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income families, providing approximately US$2 billion each year.HOME Investment Partnerships Program , Homes and Communities: Community Planning and Development, US Department of Housing and Urban Development
The program is commonly referred to as the Home Investment or Home Partnership Program, and is often operating in conjunction with other housing and other urban development programs, such as the
CDBG
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing, anti-po ...
program. Its federal identification number, or CFDA number, is 14.239.
Benefits provided
The government designed and implemented the HOME program to increase the amount of affordable housing for U.S citizens, especially those below the national and
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
poverty guidelines. The program has four main objectives:
* Expand the supply of decent and affordable housing in the U.S.
* Strength the ability of state and
local governments
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...
to design and implement strategies for achieving adequate supplies of decent, affordable housing
* Provide financial and technical assistance to state and local governments to develop affordable low-income housing
* Extend and strengthen partnerships among all levels of government (local and federal) and the private sector (both for-profit and
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organizations) in the production and operation of affordable housing
HOME funds can enable a broad range of eligible activities that provide affordable housing. Nevertheless, HUD specifies eligible activities that all governments can perform to achieve program objectives:
* Home purchase or rehabilitation financing assistance – In this type of activity, the HOME program may provide a
down payment
Down payment (also called a deposit in British English), is an initial up-front partial payment for the purchase of expensive items/services such as a car or a house. It is usually paid in cash or equivalent at the time of finalizing the transactio ...
for the purchase of a housing unit to a financial institution, thereby reducing the monthly mortgage payment of the loan balance for a low-income family that otherwise could not afford the monthly payment. The down payment can help fund new housing or the rehabilitation of a family's existing housing.
* Building or rehabilitation of housing for rent or ownership – In this type of activity, HOME funds may fund the building of housing units that the government provides to low-income families. The families either pay a monthly rent or may purchase the housing unit for an affordable price.
* Site acquisition or improvement – In this type of activity, HOME funds purchase property that is later developed as affordable housing. This activity also covers the improvement and rehabilitation of current affordable housing.
* Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) – In this type of activity, governments provide funds to
non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s that provide housing to
impoverished
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
or low-income families, including building housing projects similar to public housing projects, housing for the homeless, and developing affordable housing communities, among others.
Among these eligible activities, HUD specifies that governments can use funds to carry out "...other reasonable and necessary expenses related to the development of non-luxury housing."
The final recipients, otherwise known as beneficiaries (e.g. citizens), must be, for the most part, low-income families. HUD has designed a general formula for which all governments must comply with when providing HOME funds to citizens, which is that the incomes of families receiving HOME assistance or funds in a specific area (city, county, etc.) must not exceed 80 percent of the area's family income
median
In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic f ...
or average. In other words, if say HUD determines that a local area's median income is $25,000, then the HOME funds awarded in that area should only benefit those families with incomes less than, or equal to, 80% of $25,000 (or $20,000). HUD publishes the area median incomes plus the 80% income limits every year in it website
Administration
The program is conducted by non-federal US governmental jurisdictions, such as states, cities, urban counties, and so forth, that receive an allocation of
federal benefits
In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governmen ...
from HUD. All U.S. states are automatically eligible for HOME funds, and each receives a minimum of $3 million for the program, while local governments receive a minimum of $500,000 (unless the
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
assigns $1.5 billion or less to the program, in which case they receive a minimum of $335,000). However, federal regulations require that every single government that receives funds must provide 25 cents on their own for every HOME dollar used.
If for example a state plans to use $1 million of HOME funds during the year, HUD provides $750,000 (75%) and the State must provide $250,000 (25%) for the program to achieve the $1 million goal. This compliance requirement is known as " matching." States can achieve this by either donating non-federal cash (e.g., cash from operations—not from other federal programs), donating materials and labor, donating land or buildings, or donating any similar resources that help achieve the affordable housing goal. However, HUD may exclude certain areas from this requirement or reduce the percentage if the area suffered a presidentially-declared disaster.
In addition to the matching requirement, HUD has earmarking requirements that governments must follow. This compliance requirement obliges state and local governments to set aside 15% of program funds awarded for providing to CHDOs (see above) and sets a limit equal to 10% of program funds awarded for administration and planning expenses (e.g., recipients must use not less than 90% of total funds for actual assistance, including the 15% for CHDOs).
See also
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Subsidized housing
Subsidized housing is government sponsored economic assistance aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable hous ...
*
Section 8 (housing)
Section 8 of the Housing Act of 1937 (), often called Section 8, as repeatedly amended, authorizes the payment of rental housing assistance to private landlords on behalf of low-income households in the United States. Fort Lauderdale, Florida ...
*
Community Development Block Grant
The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), one of the longest-running programs of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, funds local community development activities with the stated goal of providing affordable housing, anti-po ...