Federal Funding of Healthy Housing

Following is a listing of various federal, state, and local funding resources available for construction and/or rehabilitation of healthy homes. Some of the federal funding programs (such as HOME) are allocated to the states and administered by state or local housing agencies.

State and Federal Healthy Housing Financing Initiatives 
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) identified and compiled this concise, informative list of specific funding initiatives, mostly federal. (ASTHO). [url; ASTHO]

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
As the nation’s housing and community development agency, HUD funds and administers numerous programs to promote affordable, healthy housing. This link takes the user to HUD’s full listing of competitive grant opportunities. Some key funding opportunities and offices specifically targeted to affordable healthy, energy-efficient, sustainable housing and communities include:

  • National Housing Trust Fund (HTF)  
    Annually allocated funds from HUD to states and state-designated entities. At least 80% must be used for rental housing; up to 10% for homeownership; and up to 10% for reasonable administrative and planning costs. HTF funds may be used for affordable housing production or preservation through acquisition, new construction, reconstruction, and/or rehabilitation. All HTF-assisted units are required to have a minimum affordability period of 30 years. [url; HUDExchange]
  • Office of Economic Resilience (OER)
    Manages a portfolio organized under three primary topic areas: Resilience, Place-Based, and Energy Efficiency and Green Building. Many of the programs span more than one issue and support inter-agency collaboration. Offers community grants under its Place Based and Energy Efficiency and Green Building Initiatives [url; HUD]
    • Placed Based Initiatives
      Offers numerous grants and technical assistance to support the integration of housing, transportation, and environmental standards that support regional planning goals; Grants are available as part of the Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), which includes, HUD, EPA and DOT. [url; HUD]
    • Energy Efficiency and Green Building
      Coordinates and supports energy-efficiency and green building goals and initiatives. Includes the following programs: Renew300 to increase the use of renewable energy in federally-assisted affordable housing; Multifamily Better Buildings Challenge, a partnership with DOE to increase the energy efficiency of multifamily rental housing; and Energy Efficient, Healthy Homes. [url; HUD]
  • HUD Exchange
    Provides contact information, reports, award, jurisdiction, and location data for all organizations that receive HUD funding under any program. State and local administrators of HUD formula grant programs may be found here. [url; HUD]
  • HUD’s Healthcare and Housing (H2) Systems Integration Initiative
    Offers technical assistance (TA) to states and communities undertaking systems changes needed to build integration and collaboration between housing and healthcare systems. Targeted to homeless population and low-income people living with HIV/AIDS, the goal is to maximize healthcare coverage and increase access to comprehensive healthcare and supportive services coordinated with housing. [url; HUD]
  • USDA Rural Development
    Listing of a range of financial assistance programs available for use in rural areas. Target audiences include nonprofit organizations, individuals, and businesses as well as lenders and utility companies. [url; U.S. Department of Agriculture)
  • Rural Housing: Repair Loans and Grants (Section 504 Home Repair Program)
    Provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve or modernize their homes and grants to elderly (62 years and older), very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards. Maximum loans amount is $20,000 and the maximum grant is $7,500; the two may be combined for up to $27,500.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
This CDC program provides lead poisoning prevention funding on three-year cycles to state and local health agencies. Grantees conduct surveillance to determine the extent of childhood lead poisoning at the state and county levels, educate the public and healthcare providers about lead poisoning, and ensure that lead-exposed children receive necessary medical and environmental follow-up services. Information about grant applications is available from the program’s website; the application announcements and forms are available at Grants.gov. [url; CDC]

CDC Funding
The CDC Funding site provides information about CDC grants contracts, financial reporting and the CDC’s budget cycle. The site also provides information and links to help determine an organization’s eligibility for funding from the CDC, and resources about how the CDC funds research and non-research public health programs. It also provides access to the CDC grants application page to learn more about applying for a grant from the CDC. The CDC posts all of its grant opportunities on grants.gov. [url; CDC]

Grants.gov
This e-government initiative, managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a centralized location for organizations to find and apply for federal funding opportunities. The system provides information on more than 1000 grant programs and evaluates grant applications for federal grant-making agencies. Grants offered through the CDC for their Healthy Homes and Lead Poisoning Prevention program, as well as opportunities from several other federally-sponsored programs can be found here. Filters on the site allow users to search for specific types of grants using key words and funding instrument types. Users can also create an online “Workspace” to receive alerts about funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) as well as to complete grant applications. Organizations can also set up a Workspace to allow multiple members of their staff to work on the same application. [url; Grants.gov]

Guide to Federal Financing for Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy Deployment
The Guide to Federal Funding for Energy Efficiency is a listing of federal funding programs that support energy efficiency upgrades and clean energy projects. Some resources specifically fund energy-related projects; energy efficiency and clean energy are just part of the overall potential use of the funding for others. The guide is organized by market segment and includes a matrix showing the various financial instruments aligned with the federal agency that administers it. [url, pdf; DOE, 2014]

For information specifically on tax credits or state-specific incentives, please see DSIRE.

Weatherization Plus Health
This program is funded by the Department of Energy and administered at the state and local levels. Although funding is limited, weatherization, combined with healthy housing repairs, is an important step in ensuring healthier housing for low-income individuals and families. It ensures that homes being weatherized and made more energy efficient are also healthy.

 

Latest page update: February 25, 2023.