Financial Help for Home Repairs

Many homeowners need financial help to investigate and fix lead and other health and safety problems in their homes. The links below will connect you to people, resources, and programs near you. Even if these programs can’t provide direct financial assistance, they should be able to direct you to programs and organizations that do.

These resources and programs are generally designed for homeowners because they are the people responsible for fixing hazards in the homes they own. If you are a renter, we recommend you still investigate these links to see the types of local programs your landlord can access to fix health hazards in the home, including those related to lead.

HUD Information on State Resources and Programs

HUD maintains webpages packed with state-specific information about a variety of housing topics. Follow the steps below to find information on home repair loan and grant programs in your area:

  1. Visit HUD’s State Information landing page.
  2. Select your state.
  3. Scroll down to I WANT TO and select Learn About Homeownership.
  4. Scroll down to Owning and Maintaining Your Home and select Home Repairs.
    This Home Repairs page lists programs and resources to help homeowners with home repairs and improvements, some of which may address lead-related mitigation and repair. Environmental health and lead programs are often located in county health departments or local housing departments. If you scroll further down the home repair web page, you’ll see links to programs listed by city, town, and county.
  5. Also, on your state’s Learn About Homeownership page, under Owning and Maintaining Your Home, you’ll find additional helpful links, including:
    • Housing resources for seniors
    • Health and environmental information
    • Rural housing programs
  6. Also, on your state’s Learn About Homeownership page, under Buying a Home, click on Assistance Programs for resources and programs to help you buy and maintain your home.

HUD Lead Hazard Control Grant Program Grantees

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD’s) Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes (OLHCHH) has two grant programs grants providing funding to help urban, suburban, and rural jurisdictions pay for the identification and control of lead-based paint hazards in privately owned rental and owner-occupied housing. Find a list of HUD OLHCHH Grantee contacts, listed by state (current as of March 8, 2021). Note that these grant programs have strict eligibility requirements, but even if you don’t qualify for assistance, your local program may be able to direct you to other resources available in your state or community.

CDC State and Local Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides funding to state and local health departments to support childhood lead poisoning prevention activities. Visit CDC’s State and Local Programs page, then select your state to find contact addresses and phone numbers for the health department or agency that operates childhood lead poisoning prevention program in your area. While these programs are unlikely to be able to offer financial assistance, they may be able to direct you to resources available in your state or community.

Other Home Repair Financing Information

If you live on tribal lands or in a rural area, check out the resources below:

  • Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program
    The Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program is a home mortgage product specifically designed for American Indian and Alaska Native families, Alaska villages, tribes, or tribally designated housing entities. These loans may be used for housing rehabilitation.
  • Local Rural Development Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants
    This program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides loans to very-low-income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes. It also provides grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards.

Search Terms for Other Resources and Programs

If you need further help finding information about financing lead investigations and repairs, conduct your own internet search, using these helpful terms:

  • To search local childhood lead poisoning prevention programs: Type “Lead poisoning” and the name of your county, town, or city. While these programs are unlikely to be able to offer financial assistance, they may be able to direct you to resources available in your state or community.
    • Example: “Lead poisoning Baltimore County Maryland.”
  • To find home repair programs that may offer low- or no-cost loans managed by local housing departments: “Home repair program” and the name of your county, town, or city.
    • Example: “Home repair program Denver Colorado.”

Latest page update: May 23, 2022.