The home investment partnerships program (home) provides need-based formula grants to states and local governments that are used to fund activities including building, buying, and/or rehabilitating…

The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development awarded County of McHenry a Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) formula grant (CFDA 14.239) in the amount of $537,687.88 on September 24, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2034. The county will utilize these funds to support affordable housing activities, including rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing, homebuyer assistance programs, and rental assistance for low-income households. All housing assisted through this award must meet federal income-targeting and affordability requirements, with units remaining affordable for periods ranging from 5 to 20 years depending on the type of activity and level of HOME funding contributed.

As a participating jurisdiction under the HOME program, County of McHenry may undertake these housing activities directly or in partnership with developers, owners, and other affordable housing providers. The county is required to maintain comprehensive records documenting compliance with program requirements for a minimum of five years beyond the affordability period and must submit annual action plans and certifications to HUD for review within 45 days of submission. This multi-year formula allocation reflects the county's established capacity as a HUD Community Planning and Development grantee with a significant portfolio of housing and homelessness interventions.

Activities

Home funds are used to finance a wide variety of affordable housing activities including rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing; assistance to homebuyers; acquisition, rehabilitation, or construction of rental housing; and tenant-based rental assistance. Projects that use home funding must meet certain income targeting and affordability requirements. Home assisted housing must also meet certain definitions of affordability and must continue to remain affordable to low-income households for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years depending on the type of activity for which funds are used and the amount of home funding contributed to the project. Participating jurisdictions (PJS) can undertake home projects directly or provide home funds to developers or owners of affordable housing or other partners. Home funds are typically provided as grants, various types of loans, loan guarantees to lending organizations, interest rate subsidies, or equity investments.

Expected outcomes

Based on the priorities identified in a five-year consolidated plan and annual action plan submitted to HUD, participating jurisdictions use home funds to acquire owner or renter occupied housing in standard condition to be occupied by low-income households; newly construct or rehabilitate affordable rental or owner-occupied housing, provide homeownership assistance to low-income homebuyers, and/or provide tenant based rental assistance to low-income households. By statute, each participating jurisdiction must reserve at least 15 percent of its home funding for projects owned, developed, or sponsored by community housing development organizations (chdos). Additionally, a participating jurisdiction may use up to 10 percent of its home allocation for program administration. The quantifiable results of this program change on a constant basis. However, they can be tracked via the home national production report. This monthly cumulative summary report of home data by federal fiscal year (FY) includes: allocations, commitments, disbursements, leveraging ratios, low-income benefit, committed funds by activity type, and home cost per unit by tenure and activity type. The monthly report can be reviewed at https://WWW.hudexchange.info/programs/home/home-national-production-reports/

Intended beneficiaries

All home assisted housing units must benefit households with incomes at or below 80 percent of area median income. Additionally, 90 percent of occupants of home assisted rental units and households that receive tenant-based rental assistance must have incomes at or below 60 percent of area median income. Home funds are often used to assist persons or households with special needs.

Subrecipient activities

The subrecipient activities are unknown at the time of award.