One of the most basic human needs besides food is shelter and this may sound very simplistic in our day and age but there are many that struggle to provide both of these for themselves and their families. Housing is especially difficult to afford for those that have very low incomes. Sometimes it is an unexpected event like a job loss, severe illness, debilitating injury or natural disaster that cause people to lose their homes. Fortunately there are federal housing programs to help in these desperate times of need.
If you are struggling to find and afford housing and are looking for assistance you may qualify for housing grants or home grants. These government housing grants government housing grants opportunities are offered through various federal and state government agencies geared toward individuals and families that are below a certain criteria for income limits based on where they are living. U.S. Housing and Urban Development, HUD and U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA are the two main funders of government housing grant programs and they offer the following:
Housing Choice Voucher Program – provide housing grants to low income families that qualify for the program. These grant recipients will receive a voucher with a set dollar amount that they use in conjunction with their funds to pay for a rental property of their choice.
Designated Housing Vouchers Program – a voucher program to allow for non-elderly families having a person with disabilities to obtain affordable housing. Eligible households are all who do not currently get housing assistance in certain developments where owners establish preferences for, or restrict occupancy to elderly families.
Rural Housing Grants – these are for areas designated that meet certain criteria to be categorized as a rural area by the federal government. Then federal funds are given to states and they direct the money in grant programs for low and moderate income families that qualify. These rural grants may be used for paying rent, home ownership or housing repairs based on the rules of the grant. The details of this program and what is available in each state is located on the federal government HUD website.
Homeownership Voucher Program – grants that provide assistance with down payment on a home, mortgage payments and other housing related expenses. The eligibility is strict for this program including the home must be used as a primary residence and the applicant has not owned property for 3 years prior to be eligible for the first time buyers assistance.
The HUD website details all these programs along with the eligibility and criteria to qualify. Additional information on these programs can be found on each state government website which will also include any housing grant programs that they provide.