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 Lehigh, Pennsylvania $524,168.61 through the Home Investment Partnerships Program (CFDA 14.239) on September 25, 2025, with a completion date of September 30, 2034. This formula grant funds affordable housing activities including rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing, homebuyer assistance, acquisition and rehabilitation of rental housing, and tenant-based rental assistance for low-income households in the Allentown area. As a participating jurisdiction, County of Lehigh's Community Development Division administers these funds in accordance with federal income targeting and affordability requirements, which mandate that HOME-assisted housing remain affordable to low-income residents for 5 to 20 years depending on the activity type and level of HOME funding contribution.

The county may undertake HOME-funded projects directly or provide funds to developers and other partners engaged in affordable housing development and rental assistance delivery. The award represents ongoing formula-based funding allocated to the county as an eligible local government entity; 60 percent of annual HOME appropriations flow to localities such as Lehigh County, while 40 percent are distributed to states. County of Lehigh must maintain comprehensive records and submit five-year Consolidated Plans and annual Action Plans for HUD review to document compliance with program requirements and performance outcomes.

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.