HOME Investment Partnership Program

The HOME Investment Partnership Program is a suggested strategy to increase access to affordable, quality housing for households with low incomes (US HUD-HOME, Mickelson 2015, US HUD-Herbert 2001). Available evidence suggests that HOME can increase homeownership, long-term affordability, and neighborhood choice for participating households (US HUD-Turnham 2004, US HUD-Carr 2008). The HOME program may also generate and support jobs rehabilitating homes (Mickelson 2015). Additional evidence is needed to confirm effects.

When used to increase homeownership for households with low incomes, the HOME program can help reduce the racial wealth divide. A significant part of the racial wealth divide at all income levels relates to lower homeownership rates and lower home values for people of color (PRRAC-Haberle 2021, Urban-McCargo 2020, Kaplan 2007).

The HOME program can also provide direct rental assistance to families with low incomes. When implemented in this way, the program helps families relocate to safer neighborhoods and reduces their exposure to crime (CG-Housing vouchers, Anderson 2003).

The HOME Investment Partnership Program is a suggested strategy to decrease disparities in access to affordable, quality housing between households with low incomes and those with higher incomes (US HUD-HOME, Mickelson 2015, US HUD-Herbert 2001). Experts suggest that additional funding for HOME is needed to expand program reach and provide access to quality, affordable housing for all eligible households (Mueller 2020, Urban-Reynolds 2021), especially for communities of color facing extensive housing inequities that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic (Urban-Reynolds 2021). To reduce disparities in housing access for renters with extremely low incomes, experts recommend removing time constraints on tenant-based rental assistance offered by HOME programs, allowing recipients to use the funds for longer term housing (i.e., beyond the current 24-month limit) (Mueller 2020). HOME programs that provide additional services such as job and skills development trainings, foreclosure prevention services, counseling, legal aid, and food assistance may increase housing security and financial stability for participants with low incomes (KHC-HOME, Aurora-HOME). In Aurora, IL, program data suggest that participation in the HOME program reduced homelessness among children and veterans (Aurora-HOME).

Discriminatory housing, lending, and exclusionary zoning policies in the era of Jim Crow and government-sanctioned segregation led to the redlining practices of the Federal Housing Administration and concentrated poverty. Redlining entrenched residential segregation, denying people of color access to government-insured mortgages and making the homes in the neighborhoods where they lived uninsurable (Kaplan 2007). The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was passed to reduce housing discrimination, but it has not stopped housing discrimination against people of color or helped rebuild the marginalized neighborhoods created by residential segregation (Urban-Reynolds 2021, AIC-HTF). In the present day, formerly redlined neighborhoods remain more likely to include older homes in poorer condition, meaning homes that have energy inefficient systems; lead paint, soil, or pipes; mold and other allergens; repair needs; challenges with heating and cooling; and more. These neighborhoods are often near sources of pollution, toxins, and other health hazards, such as coal-fired power plants or hazardous waste disposal sites (Braveman 2022).

The HOME Investment Partnership Program was established as part of the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990 (Fahe-HOME, US HUD-HOME guide) and is part of the federal government’s acknowledgement that safe, affordable, decent housing is not yet available to all Americans (Fahe-HOME, US HUD-HOME guide). As of 2021, approximately 1.3 million homes were built or preserved as part of the HOME program. More than 384,000 families with low or very low incomes benefited from HOME’s rental assistance, through $26.3 billion in direct HOME funds and $117 billion in additional public and private dollars. HOME program activities also created roughly 1.5 million jobs (Fahe-HOME).

• Does your local HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME program) have partnerships with other organizations, including nonprofits and for-profits, with a vested interest in creating additional affordable housing? Are any of these organizations focused on improving access for families with low or very low incomes? Can the HOME program form partnerships with local U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) organizations?
• How will the agency administering your HOME program raise funds to match a set proportion of their federally allocated HOME funds?
• What community priorities can be addressed with HOME funds? How will you assess if these goals are met?
• Does your HOME program provide additional support or services for participants such as job and skills development trainings, foreclosure prevention services, counseling, legal aid, and food assistance? Are additional resources available to integrate such services into your HOME program?

The HOME Investment Partnership Program is active in all 50 states (US HUD-HOME). Each state selects an agency to coordinate the program and manage funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD); examples include the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, the Montana Department of Commerce, and the Kentucky Housing Corporation (CDOLA-HOME, MDOC-HOME, KHC-HOME). County level agencies, such as New Jersey’s Ocean County Department of Planning and Pennsylvania’s Montgomery County Department of Housing and Community Development, can also administer programs (OCDP-HOME, Montgomery PA-HOME). Cities may also manage programs. The HOME program in Aurora, Illinois, part of the city’s Division of Neighborhood Redevelopment, for example, receives $750,000 annually from U.S. HUD; in conjunction with the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, it funded urgent upgrades to 63 housing units (Aurora-HOME). The city of Melbourne, Florida maintains two housing programs with federal HOME funds, both the Homeowner Housing Rehabilitation Program and the Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program aid families with low and very low incomes (Melbourne-HOME SHIP).

‡ Resources with a focus on equity.

NLIHC-HOME^‡ - National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). HOME Investment Partnerships Program: An important resource for the development of low income housing.

US HUD-203k - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage insurance.

US HUD-HOME reports - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), HUD Exchange. Frequently requested ad hoc HOME reports.

US HUD-HOME resources^‡ - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), HUD Exchange. HOME Investment Partnerships Program resources page.

* Journal subscription may be required for access.

AIC-HTF - All-In Cities, an Initiative of PolicyLink. All-In Cities Policy Toolkit: Housing trust funds (HTF).

Anderson 2003* - Anderson LM, St. Charles J, Fullilove MT, et al. Providing affordable family housing and reducing residential segregation by income. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2003;24(3S):47-67.

Aurora-HOME - City of Aurora, IL. HOME Investment Partnership Program.

Braveman 2022 - Braveman PA, Arkin E, Proctor D, Kauh T, Holm N. Systemic and structural racism: Definitions, examples, health damages, and approaches to dismantling. Health Affairs. 2022;41(2):171-178.

CDOLA-HOME - Colorado Department of Local Affairs (CDOLA). HOME Investment Partnership Program.

CG-Housing vouchers - The Guide to Community Preventive Services (The Community Guide). Health Equity: Tenant-based housing voucher programs.

Dane County-OEWD - Dane County Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD). Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships Programs. Funding for use by Dane County residents living outside the City of Madison, WI.

Fahe-HOME - Fahe Network: Strength in numbers. The HOME Investment Partnership Program offers families a down-payment on their American Dream.

Kaplan 2007* - Kaplan J, Valls A. Housing discrimination as a basis for Black reparations. Public Affairs Quarterly. 2007;21(3):255-273.

KHC-HOME - Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC). HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program.

MDOC-HOME - Montana Department of Commerce (MDOC): Montana Housing. HOME Investment Partnership Program.

Melbourne-HOME SHIP - City of Melbourne, Florida. Housing Programs: Homeowner Housing Rehabilitation Program, funded by the HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) and the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) Program.

Mickelson 2015 - Mickelson S. Building HOME: The HOME Investment Partnership Program's impact on America's families and communities. Enterprise Resource Center and the HOME Coalition. 2015.

Montgomery PA-HOME - HOME Investment Partnership Program. Housing & Community Development, Department of Health and Human Services. Montgomery County, PA.

Mueller 2020* - Mueller EJ, Way HK, Wegmann J. Freefall: Why our housing safety net is failing the lowest-income renters during COVID-19. Journal of Affordable Housing. 2020;29(2):257-269.

OCDP-HOME - Ocean County Department of Planning (OCDP). HOME Investment Partnership Program. Ocean County, New Jersey. Information on first-time homebuyers program, rental housing production through Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs), owner-occupied housing rehabilitation, and tenant-based rental assistance.

PRRAC-Haberle 2021 - Haberle M, House S, eds. Racial justice in housing finance: A series on new directions. Washington, D.C.: Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC); 2021.

Urban-McCargo 2020 - McCargo A, Choi JH. Closing the gaps: Building black wealth through homeownership. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute; 2020.

Urban-Reynolds 2021 - Reynolds K, Lo L, Boshart A, Galvez MM. Federal reforms to strengthen housing stability, affordability, and choice. Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute; 2021.

US HUD-Carr 2008 - Carr K, Herbert C, Lam K, et al. Rates of foreclosure in HOME and ADDI Programs. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). 2008.

US HUD-Herbert 2001 - Herbert C, Bonjorni J, Finkel M, et al. Study of the ongoing affordability of HOME program rents. Abt Associates, Inc. for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). 2001.

US HUD-HOME - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD). HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

US HUD-HOME guide - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD), Office of Community Planning and Development. The HOME program: An introductory guide to HOME, a new kind of affordable housing program. 1998.

US HUD-Turnham 2004 - Turnham J, Herbert C, Nolden S, Feins J, Bonjorni J. Study of homebuyer activity through the HOME Investment Partnerships Program. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (U.S. HUD); 2004.

WI DEHCR-HHR - State of Wisconsin, Division of Energy, Housing, and Community Resources (WI DEHCR). HOME Homebuyer and Rehabilitation program (HHR).